Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 16
U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson
and David Perdue attend a
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations
Committee hearing in
Washington, D.C., in 2015.
A lifetime of service
Johnny Isakson wraps historymaking political career
By Jackie Kennedy
Photos courtesy of the office of Sen. Johnny Isakson
G
eorgia's recently retired U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson has set a
lot of records.
He is the only Georgian elected to the state House of Representatives and state Senate as well as the U.S. House and Senate.
He was the first Georgia Republican elected to a third term in
the U.S. Congress, and at the time of his retirement he was the
only U.S. Senate Republican chairing two committees.
To make history like that takes drive and determination,
but Isakson displays only humility when reminded of his
accomplishments.
"I've been blessed that God kept me around long enough to
do these things," he says.
Isakson, 74, announced in August his plan to retire at the
end of 2019, citing his battle with kidney cancer and Parkinson's
disease. Halfway through his six-year term, his head and heart
were set on staying the course, but his health would not allow it.
"I wanted to go out on my terms, not wait until somebody
says, 'He's too slow; he needs to go,'" Isakson says. "But just
because I'm not in office doesn't mean I won't do things."
16
Georgia Magazine
February 2020
Sen. Isakson and his wife, Dianne, visit American cemeteries in Europe
on the anniversary of D-Day in June 2006.
Helping find a cure for Parkinson's is one goal, Isakson
says, as is taking his passion for service back to the east Cobb
County neighborhood "that got me into this in the first place."
Isakson was president of his homeowners association when
members concerned about local zoning issues encouraged him
to run for a seat on the Cobb County Commission in 1974. He
had opened Northside Realty in Marietta seven years earlier.
"They said, 'You're the president, you're in real estate, you
run,'" he recalls.
Georgia Magazine - February 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - February 2020
Contents
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - Intro
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - Cover1
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - Cover2
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - Contents
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 4
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 5
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 6
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 7
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 8
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 9
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 10
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 11
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 12
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 13
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 14
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 15
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 16
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 17
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 18
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 19
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 20
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 21
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 22
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 23
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 24
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 25
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 26
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 27
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 28
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 29
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 30
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 31
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 32
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 33
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 34
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 35
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 36
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 37
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 38
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - Cover3
Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - Cover4
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