Smith Appointed to Escort Governor

01/18/03

State Senator Preston Smith has been appointed to escort Governor Sonny Perdue into the House Chamber for the upcoming State of the State address.  The Governor will deliver his first ‘State of the State’ address to a joint session of the legislature at 7:15 PM on Monday, January 27^th.  Sen. Smith was appointed as one of a small group of Senators to formally escort the Governor into the Chamber.  Other Senators chosen for the escort committee include the Majority and Minority Leader and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.  Smith was the only freshman republican chosen.

Smith said “It is a great honor to be appointed to join the leadership for this duty.  I appreciate the confidence and trust which has been placed in me by my colleagues and hope to continue serving in ways that will ultimately benefit my constituents and my district.”

Earlier in the week, Smith had been appointed to serve as Vice-Chairman of the Ethics Committee, Secretary of the Health and Human Services Committee and was also appointed to the Economic Development and Tourism, Children & Youth and Judiciary Committees. "I am very appreciative of the appointment to such powerful and influential committees," Smith said. "It is very unusual for any Senator to serve on five committees instead of the usual four and very rare for a freshman to receive two officer positions on his committee assignments. I am particularly excited about the ability to help our district through my service on Health and Human Services and Economic Development & Tourism. Additionally, Judiciary and Ethics should be very busy committees this year due to the Governor's commitment to tort and ethics reform."