State Rep. John Yates, who represents a portion of southern Fayette County, lives in Spalding County. He is in his early 90s and is the only member of the Georgia General Assembly who is a World War II veteran.
Rep. Yates issued a statement this week to inform constituents on his activities. Here is a portion of that statement.
“May 11: The House Republican Caucus met and elected leaders to finish out the rest of this 2 year term. We are fortunate that we have such a depth of talent in our caucus. I believe that our group will serve us well.
“May 12: Once again, as I do annually, I attended the Fayette County Farm Bureau meeting and cookout in Inman on the Minter farm. It is always a pleasant experience.
“May 14: I, along with other representatives and senators, attended the Henry County Chamber of Commerce meeting and dinner. It is a good opportunity to exchange ideas.
“May 18: I buried the remains of my last sibling, my brother Warren Yates of Virginia. Warren had a distinguished career flying on a B-17 bomber in World War II. He later had a distinguished career in the U.S. Department of State as a language expert.
“May 20: Along with Gov. Deal and other state officials we celebrated the opening of Liberty Plaza, a newly opened area used for open air meetings that celebrates our military and veterans with a memorial wall which is located across from the State Capitol.
“May 21: I was the keynote speaker at the Georgia Military College in Milledgeville. I also observed the annual parade and graduation of the cadets from first grade through college. I was honored by the president of the college, Gen. Caldwell, who presented me with a ceremonial saber inscribed with my name. I appreciated this very much as I have worked on behalf of the college over my many years in the legislature, starting with the former president, Gen. Boylan.
“May 25: As we do every year in celebration of Memorial Day, many veterans’ organizations meet at Griffin’s Military Park to pay honor to all the veterans who have given their lives in all of our wars for our country.”
Rep. Yates’ office is in Room 217 at the state Capitol and the phone number is 404-656-5126. He can also be reached at John.Yates@house.ga.gov.
