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Profile

Elected in his twenties, State Senator Preston W. Smith served as the youngest member of the State Senate during his four terms from 2003-2010. Senator Smith served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee from 2005-2010, and Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee over the Judicary agencies. He is also a member of the Appropriations Committee, Rules Committee, Health & Human Services Committees, Retirement Committee, Legislative Services Committee, as well as the Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee. He is also the Chairman of the Legislative Oversight Committee over the statewide public defender's system.

Sen. Smith served as Governor Sonny Perdue's Administration Floor Leader in the State Senate in his first term in office. He also serves on the State Bar of Georgia's committee on legislation and the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Service.

In addition to his work in the Georiga legislature, Sen. Smith works in-house as an attorney and business executive holding the position of Senior Vice President of a healthcare organization which employs and insures physicians to staff hospital and other medical facilities. He previously worked as a partner with the Rome law firm of Cox Byington, PC. He has also served as an adjunct instructor of Business and Law at Georgia Highlands College.

In 2003, Georgia Trend magazine recognized Sen. Smith as one of the forty most prominent leaders in Georgia under the age of forty. Sen. Smith was also named to the list of '21 rising star lawyers' in Georgia by Atlanta's 'Daily Report.' In 2005, the Atlanta Business Chronicle recognized Sen. Smith on their list of "Who's Who" of Georgia leaders in the fields of law and business. In January of 2006, Sen. Smith was named to the list of the 100 most influential Georgians by Georgia Trend magazine. In January 2007, Sen. Smith was again named to Georgia Trend's list of most notable Georgians.

Senator Smith attended Baylor University on an academic/leadership scholarship where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a major in Management and a minor in Corporate Communications. While at Baylor, Senator Smith was inducted into the Management National Honor Society. He then attended the University of Georgia School of Law where he earned a Juris Doctor degree.



While at UGA, Senator Smith served as the Chief Justice of the UGA Law School Honor Court, ranked among the top ten speakers at the ABA National Moot Court Competition, and served in the Gwinnett County District Attorney's office in the prosecutorial clinic.

Senator Smith previously co-founded and served as director and vice-president of Sentinel Communications, Inc., a non-profit corporation established to educate, equip and empower young Americans with conservative principals and ideals. At Sentinel Communications, he served as a featured conference and retreat speaker, wrote and edited leadership curriculum and lectured to more than 10,000 students in several states. He also hosted "Preston Smith Live," a radio talk show where he conducted daily interviews and discussion with government leaders and attended a Washington, D.C. press conference with the President, Vice-President and senior White House officials.

As an attorney, Senator Smith specialized in civil litigation and has been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Georgia, Georgia Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and Rome Bar Association.

As an adjunct instructor at Georgia Highlands College in Rome, Senator Smith taught courses in the subjects of Legal Environment of Business and Professional Legal Assistant. Courses included a survey of the American and Georgia legal systems and the role of business in a Constitutional Republic.

Senator Smith has been a member of the Rome Rotary Club and the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce. He has been an organizer/coach of the Greater Rome Area Home-School Mock Trial team and the Armuchee High School Mock Trial Team. He has also volunteered coaching youth soccer, baseball and basketball with the local YMCA athletic teams. He enjoys outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, camping, and recreational sports.

In 2002, after winning a contested primary election, Senator Smith beat 12-year incumbent State Senator Richard Marable 54.2% to Marable's 45.8%. On January 13, 2003, Senator Smith was sworn in as a member of the Republican majority Georgia State Senate.

In 2004 and 2006, Senator Smith beat his Democratic opponents with approximately 64% of the vote.

Active in community affairs, Sen. Smith has been a member of the Rome Rotary Club and the local Chamber of Commerce. He has served on several non-profit boards including the Northwest Georgia Sexual Assault Center and DisABILITY Link. He previously hosted "Preston Smith Live," a daily radio talk show and has served as a conference and retreat speaker.

Senator Smith's district covers all of Floyd County and portions of Bartow and Gordon counties. In the past, Senator Smith has represented portions of Chattooga, Walker, and Whitfield counties.


PAID FOR BY THE SENATOR SMITH RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN, BOX 1957, ROME, GA 30162.