08 LC 95
0612
Senate
Resolution 1086
By:
Senators Johnson of the 1st, Williams of the 19th and Brown of the 26th
A
RESOLUTION
Commending
Professor Bill Thomas; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
Professor Bill Thomas has served since 1986 as the director of the Georgia
Legislative Intern program that has provided college students from the
participating colleges and universities a valuable experience in the legislative
process; and
WHEREAS,
after first serving in the U. S. Navy and earning his Ph.D. at the University of
Arizona, he joined the political science faculty at Georgia State University in
1971, where he has advised countless students and taught courses in American
politics and public law and been very active in the university's honors and
pre-law programs; and
WHEREAS,
he became associated with the Georgia Legislative Intern program in 1982 as the
coordinator for Georgia State University students seeking this special
experience and has recognized the rich learning opportunity these internships
provide college students; and
WHEREAS,
through this program, hundreds of Georgia college and university students have
worked as assistants to legislative members and committees, gaining invaluable
insight into how government and policy-making work in the state;
and
WHEREAS,
throughout his career he has been regarded as an outstanding teacher and mentor,
and as a result, has been a large part of numerous students' decision to pursue
legal and public service careers; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. Thomas retired from his teaching responsibilities at Georgia State
University in 2003, where an award for the political science department's best
pre-law student bears his name; and
WHEREAS,
he is retiring as director of the Georgia Legislative Internship Program this
year and plans to travel extensively with his wife and to continue to run on
many trails and pathways around Atlanta; and
WHEREAS,
he is married to Jeanie Thomas, the mother of two daughters, Katrina and Emily
Mather; and he is the father of Eric Thomas, a junior high school teacher and
coach with one fine grandson, Ethan Alexander Thomas.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body commend
Professor Bill Thomas for his outstanding service as director of the Georgia
Legislative Intern program and convey to him their respect, appreciation, and
best wishes for health and happiness in his retirement.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Professor Bill Thomas.