Floor SpeechCeremonial2026-05-19

HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND GEORGE PHILLIP SHOULTZ, JR.

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Context

On 2026-05-19, Representative Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-2) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND GEORGE PHILLIP SHOULTZ, JR." in the House.

Full Text

HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND GEORGE PHILLIP SHOULTZ, JR.

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 85 (Tuesday, May 19, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 19, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E465-E466] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND GEORGE PHILLIP SHOULTZ, JR. ______ HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR. of georgia in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 19, 2026 Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heart that is heavy beyond measure, and yet overflowing with gratitude to a gracious God, to honor the life, the ministry, and the enduring legacy of a man I have been blessed to call my friend, my brother, my teacher, and my faithful companion for more than fifty years--the Reverend George Phillip Shoultz, Jr., of Columbus, Georgia. A home-going service to celebrate his remarkable life will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at the Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia. Mr. Speaker, when I think of George Shoultz, I do not think of his many accomplishments, though they were many. I think first of a friend. I think of a brother. I think of the man who, more than half a century ago, sat in the same Sunday School class with me at the Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church, and who one day, by God's providence, would rise from the pew beside me to stand at the front of the classroom as my Sunday School teacher. That is who George Shoultz was to me. He was the friend who became the teacher. The brother who became the shepherd. The companion who walked with me on every road I have ever traveled in public life. Mr. Speaker, George was born on November 14, 1951, in Savannah, Georgia, the fourth of six children born to George Phillip Shoultz, Sr., and Cora Bell Shoultz. From his earliest days, he understood the meaning of hard work and family responsibility. Even as a young man at Tompkins High School, he worked to help support his family--a quiet sacrifice that would come to define his character. After graduation in 1969, he managed a Burger King and worked at Joe's Picnic, and he went on to study Accounting at Savannah State College, where, in a Sociology class in 1970, he met the love of his life. Miss Betty L. Martin. On July 29, 1972, George and Betty were joined in holy matrimony--a union that would last a lifetime and bless this world with three children. George, III, Brandi, and Geoffrey, and four beautiful grandchildren who were the very light of his eyes. Mr. Speaker, George Shoultz was a businessman of rare vision. He climbed the ranks at Heykow, Inc., from a local store in Savannah to becoming a regional buyer and district manager. In 1975, he arrived in Columbus, Georgia, to serve as Managing Partner of the iconic Sol & Harry's menswear store. And on January 1, 1983, through grit, faith, and sheer determination, he and his family purchased that beloved institution outright. For more than four decades, G. Shoultz & Company has clothed the men of Columbus with dignity and distinction. He was named Outstanding Business of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1983, and Regional Retail Minority Entrepreneur in 1985. But ask anyone who walked into his store, and they will tell you-- George did not just sell suits. He extended credit when a young man could not afford one for a job interview. He prayed with customers who were grieving. He turned his clothing store into a ministry of dignity. Mr. Speaker, our friendship was forged in the house of the Lord. For more than twenty years, George and I worshiped together at Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia. We sat in the same pews. We sang from the same hymnal. We sang and travelled with the choir. We bowed our heads in the same prayers. We sat in the same Sunday School class, week after week, year after year, opening the Word of God together. And there came a day when the Lord raised up our beloved George to teach that very class--and I, who had sat beside him as a fellow student, now sat as his student. He taught the Scriptures the way he lived them: with reverence, with humility, with conviction, and with a love so deep you could feel it in every word he spoke. I am a better man because George Shoultz shared with me the Word of God. I am a better servant of people because of what I learned saw in George. Mr. Speaker, our bond was woven through every chapter of our lives. He trusted me as his attorney, as I had the honor of representing him and his family in matters of business and matters of life. He trusted me with his counsel; I trusted him with my soul. There are not many men in this world whom you could trust unconditionally. George Shoultz was such a man. We watched each other's hair turn gray, and we thanked God for every gray strand of it. Mr. Speaker, when I first stepped into the arena of public service in 1976, seeking election to the Georgia State House of Representatives, George Shoultz was there. He was a young businessman then. I was a young lawyer. And he stood beside me--not because he had anything to gain, but because he believed. He believed in the calling. He believed in the work. He believed that representation mattered. And from that very first campaign, in 1976, all the way through every election I have ever waged--every State House race, every State Senate campaign, every single congressional election from my first run in 1992 to this very day--George Shoultz was there. Not for a season. Not for a cycle. For a lifetime. Mr. Speaker, during my very first campaign for the United States Congress in 1992, George Shoultz served as my Transportation Coordinator--the man who organized and directed our fleet of volunteer drivers to take me from town to town as I campaigned to become the congressman from the 2nd Congressional District of Georgia. And he dispatched them by phone from his counter at Sal and Harry. And how we would talk politics, Mr. Speaker. How we would talk. On the phone late into the evening, over coffee in Columbus, on the church steps after Sunday service, at the back counter of Sol & Harry's with a customer waiting--George had a mind that was sharp as a blade and a heart that was tender as a child's. He understood the long arc of the moral universe, and he believed, as Dr. King believed, that it bends toward justice. But he also knew that it does not bend on its own. He believed it must be pulled, prayed over, and pushed by faithful hands. His hands were among the most faithful I have ever known. He served as Captain of the Dimon Precinct for Mayor Bill Feighner. He worked tirelessly for Councilman Nathan Suber. He stood with Reverend Jesse Jackson, and on the night this Nation elected Barack Obama as President of the United States. George Shoultz and I wept together as men who had lived to see what our fathers and mothers had only dared to dream. In 1991, he joined the bus ride through Forsyth County--an act of moral courage that I shall never forget so long as I draw breath. Mr. Speaker, above every title George Shoultz ever earned in business or in civic life, he wore one with greater pride than all the rest: servant of the Most High God. Ordained to the ministry in the late 1990s, Reverend Shoultz served Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church in nearly every capacity a man can serve--as Deacon, as Sunday School Teacher and Superintendent, as Chairman of Transportation, as Chairman of Mission, as overseer of the church's radio ministry that carried the Word of God across the airwaves of Georgia on JOY FM and FOXIE 105. He served in the Inspirational Choir, the Evangelism Ministry, the Benevolence Ministry, and the Stewardship Ministry. He also served as Associate Pastor of Spirit, Truth, and Liberty Ministries International. There was no task too small, no hour too late, no soul too lost for Reverend Shoultz to serve. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once preached words that could have been written about my friend George Shoultz: ``Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.'' --Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., February 4, 1968 Mr. Speaker. that was George Shoultz. A heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. He never sought greatness, and yet greatness found him--because he gave himself away in service to others, day after day, year after year, for a lifetime. Mr. Speaker, there is a particular ache that comes when you lose a friend you have [[Page E466]] known across the long arc of a lifetime. It is the ache of fifty years of memories. It is the ache of remembering a young man sitting beside you in a Sunday School class and knowing that the seat will be empty now. It is the ache of picking up the phone to call him with news, only to remember that he has gone home. It is the ache of every campaign yet to come, every election night yet to be, every Sunday service--and knowing that George Shoultz will not be there. But, Mr. Speaker, I take comfort in this: he will be there in spirit. He will be there in every Scripture I remember from Sunday School. He will be there in every pew at Fourth Street where his prayers still linger like incense. He will be there in the laughter of his grandchildren. He will be there. His beloved wife of more than fifty years, Betty--walked every step of this journey by his side, from a Sociology class at Savannah State College in 1970 to the threshold of eternity--my heart is broken with hers. To his children, George, III, Brandi, and Geoffrey; to his precious grandchildren, George, IV, Emira, Lydia Grace, and Amira; to his surviving siblings; and to his Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church family who loved him so well--I offer my deepest condolences and the prayers of a grateful Nation. Their loss is immeasurable. But take comfort, dear ones, in the promise

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HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND GEORGE PHILLIP SHOULTZ, JR. Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 85 (Tuesday, May 19, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 19, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E465-E466] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND GEORGE PHILLIP SHOULTZ, JR. ______ HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR. of georgia in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 19, 2026 Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heart that is heavy beyond measure, and yet overflowing with gratitude to a gracious God, to honor the life, the ministry, and the enduring legacy of a man I have been blessed to call my friend, my brother, my teacher, and my faithful companion for more than fifty years--the Reverend George Phillip Shoultz, Jr., of Columbus, Georgia. A home-going service to celebrate his remarkable life will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at the Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia. Mr. Speaker, when I think of George Shoultz, I do not think of his many accomplishments, though they were many. I think first of a friend. I think of a brother. I think of the man who, more than half a century ago, sat in the same Sunday School class with me at the Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church, and who one day, by God's providence, would rise from the pew beside me to stand at the front of the classroom as my Sunday School teacher. That is who George Shoultz was to me. He was the friend who became the teacher. The brother who became the shepherd. The companion who walked with me on every road I have ever traveled in public life. Mr. Speaker, George was born on November 14, 1951, in Savannah, Georgia, the fourth of six children born to George Phillip Shoultz, Sr., and Cora Bell Shoultz. From his earliest days, he understood the meaning of hard work and family responsibility. Even as a young man at Tompkins High School, he worked to help support his family--a quiet sacrifice that would come to define his character. After graduation in 1969, he managed a Burger King and worked at Joe's Picnic, and he went on to study Accounting at Savannah State College, where, in a Sociology class in 1970, he met the love of his life. Miss Betty L. Martin. On July 29, 1972, George and Betty were joined in holy matrimony--a union that would last a lifetime and bless this world with three children. George, III, Brandi, and Geoffrey, and four beautiful grandchildren who were the very light of his eyes. Mr. Speaker, George Shoultz was a businessman of rare vision. He climbed the ranks at Heykow, Inc., from a local store in Savannah to becoming a regional buyer and district manager. In 1975, he arrived in Columbus, Georgia, to serve as Managing Partner of the iconic Sol & Harry's menswear store. And on January 1, 1983, through grit, faith, and sheer determination, he and his family purchased that beloved institution outright. For more than four decades, G. Shoultz & Company has clothed the men of Columbus with dignity and distinction. He was named Outstanding Business of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1983, and Regional Retail Minority Entrepreneur in 1985. But ask anyone who walked into his store, and they will tell you-- George did not just sell suits. He extended credit when a young man could not afford one for a job interview. He prayed with customers who were grieving. He turned his clothing store into a ministry of dignity. Mr. Speaker, our friendship was forged in the house of the Lord. For more than twenty years, George and I worshiped together at Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia. We sat in the same pews. We sang from the same hymnal. We sang and travelled with the choir. We bowed our heads in the same prayers. We sat in the same Sunday School class, week after week, year after year, opening the Word of God together. And there came a day when the Lord raised up our beloved George to teach that very class--and I, who had sat beside him as a fellow student, now sat as his student. He taught the Scriptures the way he lived them: with reverence, with humility, with conviction, and with a love so deep you could feel it in every word he spoke. I am a better man because George Shoultz shared with me the Word of God. I am a better servant of people because of what I learned saw in George. Mr. Speaker, our bond was woven through every chapter of our lives. He trusted me as his attorney, as I had the honor of representing him and his family in matters of business and matters of life. He trusted me with his counsel; I trusted him with my soul. There are not many men in this world whom you could trust unconditionally. George Shoultz was such a man. We watched each other's hair turn gray, and we thanked God for every gray strand of it. Mr. Speaker, when I first stepped into the arena of public service in 1976, seeking election to the Georgia State House of Representatives, George Shoultz was there. He was a young businessman then. I was a young lawyer. And he stood beside me--not because he had anything to gain, but because he believed. He believed in the calling. He believed in the work. He believed that representation mattered. And from that very first campaign, in 1976, all the way through every election I have ever waged--every State House race, every State Senate campaign, every single congressional election from my first run in 1992 to this very day--George Shoultz was there. Not for a season. Not for a cycle. For a lifetime. Mr. Speaker, during my very first campaign for the United States Congress in 1992, George Shoultz served as my Transportation Coordinator--the man who organized and directed our fleet of volunteer drivers to take me from town to town as I campaigned to become the congressman from the 2nd Congressional District of Georgia. And he dispatched them by phone from his counter at Sal and Harry. And how we would talk politics, Mr. Speaker. How we would talk. On the phone late into the evening, over coffee in Columbus, on the church steps after Sunday service, at the back counter of Sol & Harry's with a customer waiting--George had a mind that was sharp as a blade and a heart that was tender as a child's. He understood the long arc of the moral universe, and he believed, as Dr. King believed, that it bends toward justice. But he also knew that it does not bend on its own. He believed it must be pulled, prayed over, and pushed by faithful hands. His hands were among the most faithful I have ever known. He served as Captain of the Dimon Precinct for Mayor Bill Feighner. He worked tirelessly for Councilman Nathan Suber. He stood with Reverend Jesse Jackson, and on the night this Nation elected Barack Obama as President of the United States. George Shoultz and I wept together as men who had lived to see what our fathers and mothers had only dared to dream. In 1991, he joined the bus ride through Forsyth County--an act of moral courage that I shall never forget so long as I draw breath. Mr. Speaker, above every title George Shoultz ever earned in business or in civic life, he wore one with greater pride than all the rest: servant of the Most High God. Ordained to the ministry in the late 1990s, Reverend Shoultz served Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church in nearly every capacity a man can serve--as Deacon, as Sunday School Teacher and Superintendent, as Chairman of Transportation, as Chairman of Mission, as overseer of the church's radio ministry that carried the Word of God across the airwaves of Georgia on JOY FM and FOXIE 105. He served in the Inspirational Choir, the Evangelism Ministry, the Benevolence Ministry, and the Stewardship Ministry. He also served as Associate Pastor of Spirit, Truth, and Liberty Ministries International. There was no task too small, no hour too late, no soul too lost for Reverend Shoultz to serve. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once preached words that could have been written about my friend George Shoultz: ``Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.'' --Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., February 4, 1968 Mr. Speaker. that was George Shoultz. A heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. He never sought greatness, and yet greatness found him--because he gave himself away in service to others, day after day, year after year, for a lifetime. Mr. Speaker, there is a particular ache that comes when you lose a friend you have [[Page E466]] known across the long arc of a lifetime. It is the ache of fifty years of memories. It is the ache of remembering a young man sitting beside you in a Sunday School class and knowing that the seat will be empty now. It is the ache of picking up the phone to call him with news, only to remember that he has gone home. It is the ache of every campaign yet to come, every election night yet to be, every Sunday service--and knowing that George Shoultz will not be there. But, Mr. Speaker, I take comfort in this: he will be there in spirit. He will be there in every Scripture I remember from Sunday School. He will be there in every pew at Fourth Street where his prayers still linger like incense. He will be there in the laughter of his grandchildren. He will be there. His beloved wife of more than fifty years, Betty--walked every step of this journey by his side, from a Sociology class at Savannah State College in 1970 to the threshold of eternity--my heart is broken with hers. To his children, George, III, Brandi, and Geoffrey; to his precious grandchildren, George, IV, Emira, Lydia Grace, and Amira; to his surviving siblings; and to his Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church family who loved him so well--I offer my deepest condolences and the prayers of a grateful Nation. Their loss is immeasurable. But take comfort, dear ones, in the promise