UWG News Item
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Gov. Perdue to Speak at Summer Graduation

July 8, 2003

CARROLLTON, GA - Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue will present the commencement address for the University of West Georgia’s summer ceremony to be conducted Saturday, August 2, at 9 a.m. at Grisham Stadium. Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, president, will award approximately 193 undergraduate degrees and 123 graduate degrees.

Perdue was the scheduled speaker for the University’s May commencement ceremony which was cancelled due to tornado and flash flood warnings. May graduates were invited to a special ceremony in June or they could choose to march at the August ceremony. Approximately 50 May graduates will participate in this ceremony.

Perdue is the first Republican to serve as Georgia’s Governor since 1872. He ran for office on a platform of returning public trust in government, ensuring that the voice of the people is heard in the halls of power, and working to empower Georgians to improve their lives through innovation and productivity without undue interference by government bureaucracies.

Perdue has been a businessman, community leader, Sunday School teacher, State Senator, Majority Leader and President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate, as well as an officer in the United States Air Force.

Born in Perry, Georgia, to a lifelong farmer and a classroom teacher, Perdue attended Warner Robins High School and earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1971 from the University of Georgia. While still in school he volunteered to serve his country in the United States Air Force. While in the Air Force, he honed his flying skills, earning instrument, flight instructor, and multi-engine ratings. A licensed pilot for more than thirty years, the Governor still enjoys traveling the state in his single-engine Bellanca Super Viking.

Following his honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1974 with the rank of Captain and a brief tenure as a practicing veterinarian in Raleigh, North Carolina, Perdue returned to Georgia and became a successful small-business owner. He started two agribusiness and transportation
businesses that have grown to include several locations across the Southeast.

After serving on the Houston County Planning and Zoning Board during 1980's, Perdue was asked to run for the Georgia State Senate. He won, and spent the next 11 years representing the people of Houston, Bibb, Bleckley, and Pulaski Counties in the General Assembly. During his tenure, he rose quickly to leadership positions. After a mere four years in the Senate, Perdue was selected by his peers to the office of Majority Leader. Then, in 1997, Democratic and Republican Senators elected him President Pro Tempore.

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