Who is Gail Buckner and why is she important for Georgia's future?

Gail Buckner is a smart, gutsy, no-nonsense woman with lots of business and common sense and a very big heart. As a 16-year veteran of the Georgia General Assembly, whenever she saw something that needed doing for Georgia's citizens, she just did it.

The high-energy wife, mother of three grown children, grandmother of four and guardian mother of one was elected as a Democrat in a conservative district. She is so respected that her constituents returned her to office in 2004 with 91 percent of the vote.

Courageous: Where other legislators feared to tread, Gail had the courage to author and pass legislation for a constitutional amendment that Georgians overwhelmingly passed. Her foresight gave local governments stronger regulation of alcohol and nude dance clubs. Thanks to Gail's legislation, local governments gained greater local control and protection from litigation. Gail also is the author of Child Endangerment by DUI.

Principled: Bolstered by her family values and religious faith, Gail has fought tirelessly to make Georgia a better place to work and live for all of us. Georgians are safer today because of bills she authored and passed, including several on safe schools, consumer protection, health care, and research, prevention and treatment of cancer.

A Born Leader: Gail understands money, business and budgets. She chaired the House Appropriations Human Service Committee that sets the budget for the Departments of Labor, Veteran Affairs, Human Resources, Family and Children Services, Public Heath and Juvenile Justice. She also served on the Economic Development Budget Committee that cleared the budget for the Departments of Transportation, Community Affairs, Industry, Trade and Tourism. In 2003, she chaired the first Administrative Services Committee, and she chaired the House Appropriations Budget Oversight Committee during the second phase of the construction of the State Archives in Morrow.

In addition to her legislative leadership roles, Gail's appointments include serving on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Appropriations, Children and Youth, Game, Fish and Parks, Higher Education, Industry, now called Economic Development and Tourism, Journals and Retirement.

Hard-working, goal oriented: To put herself through college, Gail worked as a program director at a YMCA. She later managed a national retail store and was a classroom teacher before she felt a calling to public service. Her accomplishments are legend.

An educated citizen: Gail's first degree was a PHT, "Putting Hubby Thru" from the college wives club. She later attended Georgia State University as a communications major where she served as president of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and worked in an internship at, then, Henrietta Egleston Hospital for Children. Earlier, she was an education major at Clayton College and State University, from which she received the university's first Outstanding Alumni Award in 2002. An alumna of Leadership Georgia, Gail also graduated from the National Foundation for Women Legislators' Leadership College that included the Gallop Institute.

An honored government servant: Gail is the only member of the Legislature who twice was named Legislator of the Year by the Georgia Breast Cancer Coalition. She also was named Legislator of the Year by the Georgia Public Health Officials. The Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics awarded her the Friend of Children Award, one of their two awards presented to a non-physician. Clayton County named her Citizen of the Year in 2002, and she has received an Honorary Life Membership in the Georgia PTA for directing projects that won three national awards.

The NAACP honored Gail with its Community Service Award while the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Science named her Legislator of the Year. She also received the Friend of 4-H Award.

A visionary volunteer: Gail currently chairs the Clayton County Boys and Girls Foundation and is working to bring Boys and Girls Clubs to the area. A co-founder of Rainbow House, an emergency shelter for children, she also is co.-founder of Prevention PLUS, a non-profit organization that reaches at-risk youths.

Gail Buckner is the one government leader you can trust.