Bill Status
HR 245
"Chet Atkins Parkway"; designate
portion of I-185
1. Smith 102nd 2. Epps 131st 3. Brown 130th
House Comm: Trans / Senate Comm: Trans /
House Vote: Yeas 124 Nays 0 Senate Vote: Yeas 50 Nays 0
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House Action Senate
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2/7/97 Read 1st Time 2/18/97
2/10/97 Read 2nd Time 3/7/97
2/13/97 Favorably Reported 3/6/97
2/17/97 Read 3rd Time 3/13/97
2/17/97 Passed/Adopted 3/17/97
Comm/Floor Amend/Sub FS
3/18/97 Amend/Sub Agreed To
4/11/97 Sent to Governor
4/22/97 Signed by Governor
14 Act/Veto Number
4/22/97 Effective Date
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Action Suspended 3/13/97
Code Sections amended:
First Reader
1. Smith 102nd 2. Epps 131st 3. Brown 130th
HR 245
A RESOLUTION designating a portion of Interstate I-185 as the "Chet
Atkins Parkway"; and for other purposes.
Full Text
HR 245 HR 245/AP
H. R. No. 245 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Smith of the 102nd, Epps of the 131st
and Brown of the 130th
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating a portion of Interstate I-185 as the "Chet
2 Atkins Parkway"; designating a portion of U.S. 278 in
3 Paulding County as the "Wendy Bagwell Parkway"; and for
4 other purposes.
5 PART 1
6 WHEREAS, Chet Atkins has attained recognition and
7 accomplishments achieved by very few popular musicians and
8 recording artists, and he is well known and regarded as a
9 gifted country music star; and
10 WHEREAS, he spent a number of years during his childhood in
11 Harris County, Georgia, where he attended public school at
12 the Mountain Hill Schoolhouse where his father, James Arley
13 Atkins, taught piano, guitar, and voice; and
14 WHEREAS, the citizens of Harris County are especially proud
15 to have such a link with this country music star who has
16 frequently acknowledged his Southern roots and strong
17 connections with Georgia and its people; and
18 WHEREAS, it is most fitting and appropriate that this
19 musician who is the youngest person inducted into the
20 Country Music Hall of Fame and who has won 13 Grammy Awards
21 be appropriately honored by this state which contributed to
22 his early development and manhood.
23 PART 2
24 WHEREAS, Wendell Lee "Wendy" Bagwell attained recognition
25 and accomplishments achieved by very few popular musicians
26 and recording artists, and together with his group "The
27 Sunliters" was well known and regarded as a gifted Southern
28 gospel music star; and
29 WHEREAS, Wendy Bagwell was born in Chamblee, Georgia, in
30 1925 and grew up in Cumming, which he left at the age of 17
31 to join the United States Marine Corps during World War II;
32 and
33 WHEREAS, he fought for his country on Iwo Jima, Saipan,
34 Tinian, and the Marshall Islands, receiving the Bronze Star
35 and a Letter of Commendation for Bravery; and
H. R. No. 245
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HR 245/AP
1 WHEREAS, Wendy Bagwell came home to Georgia after the war,
2 marrying Melba Hogue Bagwell, his devoted wife of 50 years,
3 and raising his nephew, Ronnie, and his two daughters, Rita
4 Jima and Wendy Lea; and
5 WHEREAS, he founded his own furniture business, still in
6 operation today in Mableton, and in 1954 joined together
7 with Geraldine (Jerri) Morrison and Georgia Jones to form
8 the Sunliters, a local gospel group which would be joined in
9 1960 by Jan Buckner, Wendy's niece-in-law; and
10 WHEREAS, Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters went on to become
11 one of the premier Southern gospel groups in the nation,
12 remaining together for 36 years without a personnel change;
13 and
14 WHEREAS, Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters won world-wide
15 acclaim, as well as a Top 5 Grammy Award in 1995, Gold
16 Record for Million Seller, Special Award from the Gospel
17 Music Association, and too many other awards to mention; and
18 WHEREAS, Wendy Bagwell, a family man and a devoted follower
19 of Christ, passed away on June 11, 1996, mourned by his
20 family, his friends, the gospel music community, and the
21 citizens of the State of Georgia, and it is only fitting
22 that this state honor his memory.
23 PART 3
24 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GEORGIA GENERAL
25 ASSEMBLY that the portion of Interstate I-185 that runs from
26 Interstate I-85 through Troup County to the Harris County
27 line and that runs through Harris County from Highway 116
28 south to the Muscogee County line is designated as the "Chet
29 Atkins Parkway".
30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the portion of U.S. 278 in
31 Paulding County is designated as the "Wendy Bagwell
32 Parkway."
33 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation
34 is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate
35 signs so designating the parkways.
36 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of
37 Representatives is authorized and directed to transmit an
38 appropriate copy of this resolution to the Department of
39 Transportation and to Chet Atkins.
40 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is
41 authorized and directed to transmit appropriate copies of
H. R. No. 245
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HR 245/AP
1 this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to
2 the family of the late Wendy Bagwell.
H. R. No. 245
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