Mike George, a native of Dayton, is seeking the mayor seat in the May 6 election. George said he is looking forward to bringing direction and leadership to the growing community where he was born more than 72 years ago.
George graduated from Dayton High School in 1968. He then attended Baylor University for a year before having to return home in order to earn money for college. He attended San Jacinto Junior College for a couple of semesters, but the one-year interruption drew the attention of the military and he received his draft notice.
George said he decided to choose, rather than be chosen, so he enlisted and joined the United States Marine Corps where he served until 1972. During that time, while stationed outside of Memphis, Tenn., George met and married his wife, Mary Jo O’Brien George. The two will celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary in October.
George went back to school, got his Associate’s Degree in Accounting from San Jac, and then, after spending one semester at the University of Houston, transferred back to Baylor where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree with a major in marketing in 1978.
The Georges moved back to Dayton in August of that year and have been here ever since. The Georges have four children – Tracy in Waco, Tony with his wife, Amber, and two sons in Montgomery, son Ray and daughter Becky Smith, and her husband, Billy, and their three sons in Bandera. The Georges are members of First Baptist Church of Dayton.
George has been heavily involved in the community of Dayton for many years as listed below:
- Press box voice of the Dayton Broncos spanning 30 seasons
- Reporter, Owner/Publisher and then Editor of the Dayton News through which he recommended that Dayton paint its fire hydrants purple, and street signs purple and white
- Current President of the Dayton Noon Lions Club, 32-year member
- Assisted in the creation and development of the Colbert Tigers Athletic Foundation
- Former President of the Linney Cemetery Association, leading the movement to remove the chain link fence between it and Acie Cemetery and then combining the two organizations into one
- Current president of Dayton Senior Center, Inc.
- Current member of the Dayton Fire and Police Museum Committee
- Current member of Dayton American Legion Post 512
George said his reason for running can be summed up in three words – “Infrastructure, infrastructure and infrastructure.”
“I learned that my grandfather, after arriving in Dayton in 1934 with his family, including my father, was given the job as one of, if not the first head of, Dayton’s water department,” said George. “It’s very likely that some of the water and sewer lines laid under his supervision beneath some of our streets are still there. He passed away in 1959, so here I am running for a position, ironically, to be in a position to address the status of some of that work.”
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