Hays Arnold, Jr.
Good evening! I want to thank the Board for giving me the distinct honor and pleasure of revealing to you the Chamber’s 2019 Lifetime achievement Award recipient. This award is given to someone whose work on behalf of the community has been exemplary over several decades.
And this is certainly the case of tonight’s recipient!
Hays Arnold was born and reared in Thomaston and attended public school here, graduating from Robert E. Lee Institute in 1957. He then attended Florida Southern College, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Hays was a charter member of the Epsilon Sigma chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity and was active in the Student Government Association and Young Republicans. He continued his education throughout his life and was always an avid reader. In his free time, Hays enjoyed fishing and playing golf.
Before he retired from business activities in 2008, Hays was a businessman in Thomaston and Atlanta for 44 years. Hays brought both the Century 21 and Coldwell Banker real estate franchises to Thomaston, which he later sold in order to concentrate his attention on his construction and development interests.
Hays was twice elected Mayor Pro Tem and was then elected Mayor where he served from 2004 through 2015.
Hays was grateful and proud to serve and he came from a rich heritage of public servants. His great-great grandfather and two great grandfathers served as mayors of Thomaston. In addition, his grandfather and father served on the Thomaston City Council. His father, also, served on the Upson County Commission for almost 20 years, serving over twelve of those years as Chairman.
Throughout his life Hays served on many boards, including the Board of Health, Three Rivers Regional Council, West Central Georgia Work Force Investment Board, Thomaston-Upson Office Building Authority, and Thomaston-Upson County Industrial Development Authority. Hays served as Chairman of the Three Rivers board and the Thomaston-Upson County Transportation Committee. Hays was an ex officio member of the Board of Directors of the Thomaston-Upson Chamber of Commerce during the twelve-year period he served as Mayor. Hays was a past President of the Chamber of Commerce. In 2010, Hays was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to the Upper Flint Regional Water Planning Council and was reappointed by Governor Nathan Deal in 2013. Governor Perdue also appointed Hays to serve on Georgia's 2010 Complete Count Census Committee. Hays was active in the Georgia Municipal Association, serving on the Legislative Policies Council for four years, and on Transportation and Environment/Natural Resources committees for 15 years
Hays was a Mason and a Shriner and was a Life Time member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. He received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Coast Guard Reserve on December 8, 1968.
Hays was married to Anna Cowart Arnold. Hays and Anna were always proud to confess their Christian faith, Charles Bennett, their Pastor, described Hays as a Pilgrim of the faith. Charles said that Hays loved his church, The Gathering in Thomaston, but more than that, he loved the church where-ever he was. He gave his church his full support whether with his presence, his finances or his talents. Hays and Anna have four children and eleven grandchildren and Hays was always extremely proud of them.
Sometimes you accomplish many things in life and win many awards and recognitions and certainly Hays was one of those people whose life was covered in accomplishments and awards, but in the end, it is all about how you impacted people…those around you. Hays certainly did this.
Hay’s illness caused him to be in the hospital and I visited him on several occasions. Inevitably our conversation would always turn to the Lord and the hope he had. Hays was so fearless and he was so confident about his relationship with God and where he stood with God, always being willing to witness to that fact.
My daughter posted something on Facebook the other day and I think it is something we should all think about and something certainly applicable to Hay’s life:
Imagine getting to Heaven and God saying this:
Before I laid the foundation of the earth, I thought of you and of the days you would live on earth. I planned out the people and the places I would give you. I laid out your neighbors and your workplace, the places you would attend school and your family. I
laid out enough days to do all the good works that I proposed for you and I equipped you with all you would need to accomplish those purposes here. I filled you with my spirit to encourage and remind you and lead you. I gave you my Word so you would know me and know what to do. I gave you people to be with and people who needed me.
Now let’s talk about how all that went.
Well when I think about that conversation with Hays I am very confident that The Lord would look at Hays and say, “Well done thy good and faithful servant!”
We are thankful to Hays for all that he did in our community and thankful to his family who shared him with us.
Now please welcome to the stage, Patrick Comiskey who will be accepting this Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the Hays Arnold family
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