06 LC 18
4684
House
Resolution 1109
By:
Representative Jamieson of the
28th
A
RESOLUTION
Honoring
the life and lifetime achievements of the late Governor Samuel Ernest Vandiver,
Jr., and dedicating the Samuel Ernest Vandiver, Jr., Interchange; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
on July 3, 1918, in the northeast Georgia community of Canon, near Lavonia,
Samuel Ernest Vandiver, Jr., was born to Samuel Ernest and Vanna Bowers
Vandiver; and
WHEREAS,
he attended the University of Georgia where he was president of five student
organizations, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1940 and his law degree in
1942; and
WHEREAS,
he served his country with great honor and pride in the Army Air Force during
World War II and was assigned as defense counsel for the Air Force in Arizona
and, later, as a legal adviser to individual airmen; and
WHEREAS,
he was elected as mayor of Lavonia in 1945, was appointed as adjutant general of
Georgia under Governor Herman Talmadge's administration in 1948, and was elected
as lieutenant governor in 1954; and
WHEREAS,
in one of the most remarkable gubernatorial election landslides in recent
Georgia history, he carried 156 counties, 400 county unit votes, and 499,477
popular votes compared to his two opponents' total of 120,929 votes;
and
WHEREAS,
when he first came to office as governor in 1959 amid a spending scandal, he
immediately ordered most state departments and agencies to cut expenditures by
10 percent, implemented efficient business practices, and appointed capable
directors to the most troubled departments, exposing and eliminating corruption
within the government's executive branch; and
WHEREAS,
Governor Vandiver addressed the General Assembly in 1961 to announce that a
campaign platform position he had taken was ill-timed, ill-advised, and not in
the best interest of many qualified Georgians who sought admission to the
University of Georgia; and
WHEREAS,
because of the Governor's recognition that the flagship university of the
state's system should be opened to students of all races, nationalities, and
stations in life, he therefore desegregated the University of Georgia;
and
WHEREAS,
the university was integrated with none of the vicious riots and fatalities
associated with integration of universities in other parts of the Deep South;
and
WHEREAS,
as Toccoa
Record publisher Tom Law opined,
"Vandiver's gutsy decision also paved the way for relatively peaceful racial
relations in Georgia throughout the tumultuous 1960's. Although he didn't
benefit from the decision, Georgia certainly did ..."; and
WHEREAS,
upon learning of the stunning abuses suffered by the mentally ill at the
Milledgeville State Hospital and personally touring the facility with his wife,
he launched an investigation which led to the legislature's approval of $11
million for new facilities and paved the way for sweeping reforms in mental
health services and programs; and
WHEREAS,
under his tenure, construction began on the state Archives Building, which
opened in 1965, preserving records in a state where 49 courthouses had burned
until being replaced in the 1990's; and
WHEREAS,
with great foresight and wisdom, he purchased Colonels Island near Brunswick,
which now serves as a valuable shipping port; and
WHEREAS,
as a private citizen, he chaired the 1963 Rapid Transit Committee of 100, which
helped to successfully lobby for a commuter train network, now MARTA, in metro
Atlanta; and
WHEREAS,
upon his death in February, 2005, memorial accolades poured forth to remember
Governor S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr., including lines from
The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution "if a single figure
can be said to demarcate the end of Old Georgia and the beginning of the New, it
was former Governor Ernest Vandiver, Jr."; and
WHEREAS,
Governor Vandiver was eulogized in his beloved First Baptist Church of Lavonia
by the honorable former Attorney General of the United States, Griffin Bell, who
said "Ernie Vandiver was a great Southerner. He rose above being a political
leader and became a statesman ..."; and
WHEREAS,
the State of Georgia mourns the loss of this monumental statesman whose
steadfast leadership and great personal strength guided the citizens of this
state through trying times with great dignity and moral integrity.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the members of
this body join together to express their deepest regret at the passing of former
Governor Samuel Ernest Vandiver, Jr., and extend their most sincere condolences
to his family.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the interchange located at Interstate 85 Exit No. 173
in the City of Lavonia and Franklin County is dedicated as the Samuel Ernest
Vandiver, Jr., Interchange, and the Department of Transportation is authorized
and directed to place and maintain appropriate signs so dedicating the
interchange.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to transmit appropriate copies of this resolution to the family of
the late Governor Samuel Ernest Vandiver, Jr., and the Department of
Transportation.