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- Lieutenant General David Poythress is the Adjutant General of Georgia. He is the first Adjutant General of Georgia to hold the rank of lieutenant general.
A native of Macon, Georgia, General Poythress has had a long and distinguished career that includes military service, public service and private law practice. He attended Emory University where he received his law degree with honors in 1967, and he is a distinguished military graduate of the Emory ROTC program. General Poythress served four years on active duty with the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate officer, including one year as Chief of Military Justice at DaNang Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam.
Upon returning to civilian life, General Poythress remained in the Air Force Reserve, serving as a judge advocate officer in various positions of increasing responsibility. In 1991, he was recalled to active duty to oversee the continental United States backfill of reserve legal officers during Operations Desert Storm/Shield. He was promoted to Brigadier General in February 1994, and to Major General in July 1999.
General Poythress, who practiced law in Atlanta from 1983-1992, has spent much of his civilian career in public service. He has served as Deputy State Revenue Commissioner, Secretary of State and Commissioner of Labor of Georgia.
The general and his wife Elizabeth have three grown children and three grandchildren. He is a member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the USO. He has served on the board of directors of Wesley Homes and the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women. He also served two terms as Chairman of the Board of the State YMCA of Georgia.
- IN MEMORIAM OF LT. GEN. DAVID B. POYTHRESS
10/24/43 - 1/15/17
He was as trusted, tried and respected a general as any solider could ever hope to become - decorated with three silver stars on the shoulders of his uniform for his more than 45 years of unwavering military service to the United States. He fought and led troops in combat theatres all over the world including Vietnam, Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Nicaragua, Guantanamo Bay and was among the first commanding generals on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11.
As he led in battle he also led in state and civic life. He was a statesman, public servant, community leader and master mason - operating in some of the highest political offices of the state of Georgia including Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Revenue Commissioner, Secretary of State, Labor Commissioner and serving until his retirement as The Adjutant General - commanding the state's National Guard forces of Army and Air Force totaling more than fourteen thousand troops.
He was also a man committed to civic duty and a champion for positive community causes standing as longtime board member and chairman for organizations including the National Guard Association, the YMCA, Jobs For America's Graduates, Common Cause Georgia, Wesley Homes and the Atlanta Day Shelter For Women.
He was a fine father, supportive husband and role model to me (his only child), his wife Elizabeth, his stepdaughters, his many step grandchildren and to all who had the privilege of working alongside him.
For those of you who knew my father or know me - do not mourn his passing. Instead reflect on his legacy of service and allow yourself to be inspired to make positive and meaningful contributions to your country, community and family in his memory.
-- Cullen Poythress, 16 Jan 2017
- David Poythress didn't fit the political mold.
He would read scholarly articles and listen to classical music as he crisscrossed Georgia running for statewide office, said George Langford, a former employee and friend of more than 30 years.
"And nobody has a resume like him in state government," Langford said.
David Bryan Poythress - attorney, a two-time candidate for governor and commander of the Georgia Army and Air National Guard during the Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnian wars - died Jan. 15, while seeking medical treatment for a longtime lung illness. He was 73.
Although he never reached his goal of governor, Poythress parlayed smarts and ambition into several high-level state jobs: deputy revenue commissioner; assistant attorney general; state labor commissioner; secretary of state, and the first commissioner of the state Department of Medical Assistance.
DuBose Porter, a former legislator and Georgia Democratic Party chairman, said few can compare with Poythress. "When his nation or community called, he always answered," Porter said. "He was an accomplished, noble patriot driven by the credo of 'do the most good.' "
Poythress was born in Bibb County on Oct. 24, 1943 to John Maynor Poythress, head of Macon's water department, and Dorothy Bayne Poythress, a school teacher and the founder of the state's special education program.
He received his political science degree, law degree and commission as a U.S. Air Force officer at Emory University in the 1960s.
Poythress entered active duty as an assistant staff judge advocate at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Texas in 1967. He served four years on active duty, volunteering for service in Vietnam and spending a year as defense counsel and chief of military justice at Da Nang Air Base. After active duty, he continued in the Air Force Reserve, retiring in 1998 with the rank of brigadier general.
Before seeking elected office, Poythress was an assistant attorney general, deputy state revenue commissioner and chairman of a study committee Gov.George Busbee appointed to tackle the thorny issue of nursing home reimbursements from Medicaid. This and his subsequent work on Medicaid led to him being nicknamed the "Mr. Fix It" of state government.
In 1979, Busbee appointed Poythress secretary of state after the death of the legendary incumbent, Ben Forston.
Poythress ran for a full term as secretary of state in 1982 but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Max Cleland, a popular, decorated and disabled Vietnam veteran who would go on to run the Veterans Admistration and serve in the U.S. Senate. Poythress took a 10-year break from politics and practiced tax law in Atlanta.
He jumped back into politics in 1992 and won a special statewide election for labor commissioner against Democratic incumbent Al Scott of Savannah. In 1994, he was elected to a full four-year term as labor commissioner.
In 1999, Gov. Roy Barnes appointed Poythress to lead the Georgia Army and Air National Guard. Gov. Sonny Perdue reappointed him in 2002, promoting him to lieutenant general and making him the state's first three-star adjutant general.
Langford said Poythress "wasn't fluff and bluster. He was straight ahead and get the job done." He said Poythress' interest in politics grew out of "his love of government and his country. He believed in institutions - the military, state government, federal government, the Democratic Party and organized labor."
"He had a work ethic that never stopped, which he also expected from everybody that was close to him," Langford said.
Scott Holcomb, an attorney and Democratic state representative from Atlanta, said Poythress "had a heart for service, and he led by example. He cared deeply about our service members and worked hard to promote our nation's democratic ideals."
Poythress' wife, Elizabeth, said her husband strived to make things better for the agencies and employees he oversaw.
"Integrity, honesty and duty before self were his guiding principles," she said. "He was a great father, incredible grandfather, devoted husband and friend and unwavering patriot." Poythress was on several boards and was vice chairman of the Board of the National Guard Association of the United States and a two-term chairman of the Board of the State YMCA of Georgia.
He recently worked as a consultant and adviser to international companies in the defense industry.
His survivors include his wife Elizabeth, sister Eva Higgins, son Cullen Gray Poythress, stepdaughters Candace Pinnisi and Kristin Placito, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 17 Jan 2017
- Lt. Gen. (Ret.) David Bryan Poythress, of Atlanta, passed away on Sunday, January 15, 2017. Poythress served our nation and state with distinction in many capacities including serving as Georgia Secretary of State, Labor Commissioner and Adjutant General - the commander of the Georgia Army and Air National Guard.
Born in Macon on October 24, 1943, Poythress attended Bibb County public schools and played football at Lanier High for Boys. His father, John Maynor Poythress, worked for the city water department, his mother, Dorothy Bayne Poythress, was a school teacher, and they were founding members of Riverside Methodist Church in Macon.
Poythress attended Emory at Oxford, and earned his degree and his commission as an US Air Force officer at Emory University in Atlanta, where he also earned his law degree in 1967. A life-long servant leader, his career has included public service, military service, and private law practice.
Poythress served four years (1967-1971) on active duty in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate officer. He volunteered for duty in Viet Nam and served one year as defense counsel and Chief of Military Justice at DaNang Air Base, in the Republic of Viet Nam. Following his active duty, Poythress continued his military service in the Air Force Reserve, attaining the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in 1998. As the senior Reserve legal officer attached to 9th Air Force, he was called to active duty to help oversee the use of Reserve legal resources in the continental United States during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
In his civilian life, Poythress practiced law in Atlanta, with concentrations in taxation and public finance. Prior to seeking elective office, he held several positions in Georgia state government, including Assistant Attorney General, Deputy State Revenue Commissioner and Secretary of State. In 1992 he was elected statewide to the office of State Labor Commissioner and was re-elected in 1994. Poythress unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Georgia in 1998 and 2010.
In 1999, Governor Roy Barnes appointed Poythress Adjutant General - the commander of the Georgia Army and Air National Guard - in the rank of Major General. He was reappointed in 2002 by Governor Sonny Perdue, who also promoted him to the rank of Lieutenant General - the first Adjutant General in Georgia history to wear three stars. As leader of this 13,000 member organization he led the organization to win the Georgia Oglethorpe Award for organization excellence (Malcolm Baldridge criteria and examiners). Poythress had overall responsibility for two brigade level deployments to Bosnia (2000) and Iraq (2005). In addition to leading Guard members in first response to Hurricane Katrina, he also served on the command cell of the Georgia Homeland Security Task Force from September 12, 2001 until his retirement in 2007.
Poythress has held several local and national leadership positions. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the National Guard Association of the United States and was a member of the Board of Directors of Jobs for America's Graduates. He served two terms as Chairman of the Board of the State YMCA of Georgia and served on the boards of Common Cause Georgia, Wesley Homes and the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women. He was a Rotarian, a Mason and member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the USO, the Sigma Chi Fraternity and Peachtree Road United Methodist Church.
Recently, Poythress has worked as a consultant and advisor to a number of international companies in the defense industry. He passed away at Duke University Hospital where he was seeking treatment for a lung condition. A memorial celebration is being planned, and the family will share the details when available. In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider a gift in his memory to the State YMCA of Georgia (ymcaga.org/donate) or the Georgia National Guard Family Support Foundation (georgiaguardfamily.org/donate).
Poythress was predeceased by his parents and brother John Maynard Poythress, Jr. and is survived by wife Elizabeth, sister Eva Higgins, son Cullen Gray Poythress, stepdaughters Candace Pinnisi (John), Kristin Placito (Frank), eight grandchildren, one great grandchild, niece Leigh Poythress Wilson and nephews Randel Whitfield Higgins and Mirabeau Lamar Higgins.
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1943 - 2017 (73 years)
