Being the son of a newspaper editor brought a lot to the table for Powell Moore

Having grown up the son of a weekly newspaper editor, Powell Moore enjoyed a novel experience that was about as unique and special as a small-town boy could imagine. The movers and shakers of the state were often in the company of his father, Jerry.

When the governor came to Milledgeville, he often pulled up a chair at the Moore’s table. It was the same with the states’ two U. S. senators, Richard B. Russell and Walter George. And later, Herman Talmadge.

Powell was duly appreciative to have the opportunity, even in the days when he wore short pants, to listen to these powerful men discourse on doings in Washington and his native state. That would influence his career path when he was graduated from college and finished his military career. When he was invited to become the press secretary for Russell, Powell owed that opportunity to the relationship of his editor-father and the senior senator from Winder.

There was another notable personality who often broke bread with his father — the one man in the state Powell most enjoyed meeting. That was Wallace Butts, the head football coach at the University of Georgia. The “Little Round Man,” as Butts was known, often showed up in Milledgeville which happened to be the hometown of the feisty Bulldog coach.

Butts and Powell’s father were lifelong friends and Powell was the envy of kids in Baldwin County when he got to travel to Athens on fall Saturdays to see Georgia play in games that drew national headlines. Powell was 8 in 1946 when Georgia went undefeated and won the national championship. Charley Trippi had become the scion of Butts’ T-formation, which had become the rage of college football although many, including Robert Neyland of Tennessee, stuck with the traditional single-wing offense.

Powell also knew about Georgia’s illustrious history in football and was privy to the inside information which he gleaned from eavesdropping on conversations between Coach Butts and his father. When the Moores were in Athens, they frequently enjoyed greens and pot licker at the Butts family home.

When he became established in Washington, Powell never lost his affection for his state university, from which he was graduated in 1959 while Coach Butts was winning his fourth and final SEC championship. He returned to Athens as often as possible to spend time at the Grady College of Journalism. He was a protégé of Dean John E. Drewry, to whom he held similar reverence to which he had for Coach Butts.

In recent years when Powell, who had the distinction of working for four United States presidents over a five-decade period, marveled at the expansion of his alma mater. He found inspiration in the development of the campus, faculty and versatility and depth of the students with whom he interacted.

He maintained ties with the Grady College, serving on boards and was a frequent guest lecturer. He would call old friends for lunch and flashed back to his past when he was invited to attend a meeting of the Touchdown Club of Athens. He remembered his daddy accompanying Coach Butts to those same meetings in the late '40s.

The excitement of official Washington, they call it Potomac fever, gets in the blood and Powell reveled in being integrated into the scene, having received high appointments from President George W. Bush in the Defense Department and being named assistant secretary of state by President Ronald Reagan. He also served on the staffs of Presidents Nixon and Ford.

Returning home to Milledgeville and the Georgia campus gave him the highest emotional fulfillment, however. He would often call after a big victory between the hedges to recollect a milestone moment of the past that had a familiar ring.

Powell Moore was able to serve two masters — official Washington and a deep rooted connection with his alma mater and the hedges of Sanford Stadium. He was a Great American and a Damn Good Dawg.