Clinton pays tribute to George Paynter
Clinton City Mayor Scott Burton presents Clinton resident George Paynter with a resolution honoring him for his service. (photo:Ben Pounds )
Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties will honor Paynter during the Bow Tie Event and Fundraiser on Nov. 14 at the Oak Ridge Conference Center.
Tickets are available at adfac.org/bow-tie/. They are $125 each or $1,000 for a reserved table for eight.
For additional information email bowtie@adfac.org or call 856-483-6028.
The Clinton City Council honored Paynter with a resolution, read by Mayor Scott Burton at the Oct. 26 meeting.
Burton listed many of Paynter’s accomplishments, including serving as a chairman of the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, as a Clinton High School business-class instructor, basketball and softball team coach, and president of the ADFAC Board of Directors and the St. Theresa Parish council and Boy Scouts Friends of Scouting Campaign. He has also hiked to the highest point in 48 states and was state champion in tennis in 2024 and 2025.
Paynter said he’d lived in Clinton for 31 years.
“This is now home, a wonderful place to be,” he said. He said even before he lived here, he was struck by the lack of litter, and said the city had stayed clean to this day.
He said he joined ADFAC without knowing what it was because William “Bear” Stevenson asked him to join, but praised it.
“I like to tell people they try help the working poor,” Paynter about ADFAC, adding that it focuses on people tempporarily going through difficult times.
“They don’t just give you money, you have to go through a process to make sure you’ll get back on your feet right,” he said.