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Editor’s Note: This feature originally ran on February 22, 2025 in the 2025 Progress edition (Troup County Is…). The Progress edition is a publication produced annually by the LaGrange Daily News. If you would like to pick up a copy of the 2025 Progress edition, please visit our office at 115 Broad Ste 101.

Feature by: Jeff Moore

Once in a while through life people meet an individual with so many life experiences and accomplishments that his story needs to be told in a book.

The Rev. Dr. George Bailey of Hogansville is that person. In fact, he has been working on a book that is expected to be released this spring that will share the challenges he has overcome and the good works he has performed as a pastor and civic leader.

His mantra could serve as the “CliffsNotes” version of his book and his life: “If I can help someone along the way, then my living will not be in vain.”

In an interview from Nashville, Tennessee, where he is recovering from a heart transplant, Bailey said this is the guiding principle of everything he does.

The Newnan native, raised in Manchester, has an impressive life of accomplishments and service to others. The list includes Army veteran, pastor, city councilman, chamber of commerce chairman and community leader through his volunteer work with the Salvation Army, Leadership Troup County, the Rotary Club, VFW and American Legion, to name a few.

“I’m full of joy,” Bailey said in a video recorded for the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce. “I’m a people person. I love people. 

I want everybody to be happy.”

He brings excitement and hope when he walks into a room.

“I’m full of vigor to let people know it’s going to be okay, even though I might be down but I still want to make sure that people are full of joy,” he said.

Bailey graduated from Manchester High School in 1988 and started college at Albany State. But he opted to leave school to join the military in 1989. He joined right as the U.S. was preparing to battle Saddam Hussein and found himself serving in the Gulf War through both Desert Shield and Desert Storm in C Battery, Second Battalion, 29th FA.

“We fought against the Republican Guard, defeated the Republican Guard,” he recalled of his eight years in the Army. 

“I could have died there at a young age,” he said. “I was 18.”

Bailey said he is proud to have served his country.

When he got out of the Army in 1995, he came back to Newnan where he was born and had a lot of family, he said.

It wasn’t long before he found his calling as a pastor.

In 2000, Bailey pastored his first church, Mount Gillard Baptist Church in Lagrange. That same year he was called to pastor White Oak Grove Baptist Church, Senoia, where he continues to serve today some 25 years later.

He moved to Hogansville in 2008 and quickly became a community leader in his new hometown.

Then-Mayor Bobby Frazier approached him about running for the city council, which he did for two terms. It included a stint in 2017 as mayor pro tem.

“I think I’ve been a positive change for Hogansville and Troup County,” he said.

Through his volunteer work in the community, Bailey has proven himself to be an inspiration and civic leader.

He became the first African-American to serve as the chairman of the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce.

Bailey also served two years as chairman of the Salvation Army of LaGrange board. Additionally, he was chair of the College Advisory Board in 2023.

Other organizations fortunate to have Bailey’s membership are the Print Hall Masonic Lodge No. 299, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. and the Peter Charles Moore Memorial American Legion Post 910, LaGrange Rotary Club, Boys and Girls Club Advisory Board, American Cancer Society/Relay for Life, Hogansville Ministerial Alliance, Meriwether/Hogansville Joint Authority Board, LaGrange Kiwanis Club and the International Chaplains of America.
He has served as chaplain for the Hogansville Police Department, Roscoe Jenkins Funeral Home, Masonic Lodge No. 299 and American Legion Post 152.

“For me, building people up, that’s what I do,” Bailey said of his life in his community. He said he tries to use his influence to create positive change.

His dedication to community service has not gone unnoticed, with Coweta County declaring a day in his honor, and he has been recognized at the state level for his contributions as a pastor. 

Bailey’s leadership was further acknowledged through the prestigious Robert Know Leadership Award from the Georgia Municipal Association and the “Chosen Pastor of the Year” award in 2015 at the Georgia International Convention Center.

He also has been honored by four cities as their parade grand marshal.

A new heart, a new mission

On Dec. 5, 2024, Bailey received a heart transplant at Vanderbilt Transplant Center in Nashville.

His recovery is going well, he said, noting that he is staying in Tennessee because he has to go in for testing and follow up three days a week. His medical team is working with him to prevent rejection of the heart he received from a 31-year-old unknown male.

With the support of Daniela, his wife of 32 years, Bailey said he gets up at 4:30 a.m. daily to work out and makes sure to eat right. He has shed 110 pounds, now weighing in at 242 pounds, down from 352 pounds.

Bailey said his medical team is monitoring his medicines, which is a big reason why he needs to remain in Nashville. It won’t be long before he can return to his home in Hogansville, he said, adding that he will need to travel back to Vanderbilt every four to six weeks through the rest of the year for follow-up care.

He is now using his charisma to help others at the transplant center.

“I try to inspire other patients,” Bailey said, adding he works to motivate them even if he is feeling down.

At this point, he has to use caution around others to prevent infection, as his immune system is weakened by the medications helping his body accept the new heart.

Bailey said he appreciates the love and support that he has received from so many people. The outpouring has been so overwhelming he hasn’t been able to reach out to everyone who has called, sent messages and cards and their other ways of showing support for him.

He now hopes he can use his abilities to inspire others to become organ donors.

“I love people,” Bailey said. “I love to encourage people and that’s my biggest goal.”

He has a lot to live for with the new heart with his wife Daniela at his side. The couple has two grown daughters and are proud grandparents of three boys.