[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3548]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO WAYNE MASON

 Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, It is a great honor for me to pay 
tribute to a great Georgian and a great friend, Wayne Mason. It is 
Wayne's 75th birthday, and for a minute I want to share with the Senate 
the greatest example I know of how much difference one man can make. I 
would not be where I am today and Gwinnett County--one of America's 
most dynamic counties--would not be what it is today were it not for 
the support and leadership of Wayne Mason.
  Wayne is generous in giving back to his community and passionate in 
his love of country. A successful real estate developer, Wayne has said 
he lives for the deal and will die seeking his final one. Wayne began a 
life of hard work and deal-making as a boy by plowing his family's 
gardens with a one-eyed mule, and he honed his marketing skills by 
selling eggs and Christmas wreaths. A clever young man, Wayne 
understood what was needed in a budding community and he opened many of 
the entities needed to develop one--including a bonding company, 
ceramic tile store, funeral home, liquor store and a bank. Between 1959 
and 1972, he built 1,800 homes in the growing community of Snellville, 
GA, and by that time, he was a millionaire.
  Wayne didn't stop building his community credentials there. He became 
chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission in 1977 and served in that 
capacity until 1981. Wayne's successful development and investment 
projects in Gwinnett County include names and places all metro 
Atlantans know such as Discover Mills and The Villages at Global Forum. 
He also served as a member of the Atlanta Regional Commission, which is 
the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency for 
much of the metro Atlanta area.
  Another area he conquered in more recent years that is also essential 
for a thriving community is higher education. It has also become a 
particular passion and point of pride for Wayne in the form of Georgia 
Gwinnett College, which he helped to make a reality. In 1994, Gwinnett 
County was the largest county east of the Mississippi without a 4-year 
college. So Wayne and a group of leaders in Gwinnett County purchased 
160 acres of land in Lawrenceville, GA, and designated it specifically 
for the development of a college campus. Georgia Gwinnett College 
opened its doors in 2006 as the first 4-year college founded in Georgia 
in more than 100 years, and the first 4-year, public college created in 
the U.S. in the 21st century. In less than 10 years, Georgia Gwinnett 
College's enrollment is approaching 11,000 students and Wayne still 
serves on the college foundation's board.
  Wayne Mason is the foundation upon which Gwinnett County's success is 
based. So I want to wish happy birthday to a great Georgian and 
friend.

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