When I first started at The Walton Tribune, oh so long ago, I was given the Social Circle beat, meaning I would be the on-the-ground reporter for any major events happening in Walton County’s southernmost outpost.

Accordingly, I went to the next meeting of the Social Circle City Council to begin my education in all things related to the Circle.

One of the first people to greet me was a friendly man who introduced himself with a hearty handshake and a broad smile.

“Paul Posner, the Georgia Bulldog,” he said in introduction.

And so I met Social Circle’s biggest unofficial booster in person.

Paul Posner was a fairly recent transplant to Social Circle when I met him in 2006, having only moved to the town with his wife, Nancy, six years earlier (that’s recent in a small town, where many people are still considered transplants two generations on).

But he had deep roots in “Georgia’s Greatest Little town,” having spent summers in the town where his grandfather owned a general store, and he knew the area well.

In fact, he invited me out just days after we met to come down to Social Circle and we drove all over the city as he pointed out the sights and gave me the rundown on the community.

It was a welcome introduction for a young cub reporter just getting his feet wet in a new town.

After that, I ran into Paul everywhere. I almost never quoted him in anything — civic stories usually focus on mayors and council members and Paul never held an elected position — but he was in picture after picture, especially myriad ribbon cuttings which he attended as an Ambassador for the Walton County Chamber of Commerce.

Paul didn’t have an elected position, but he was in countless other organizations and volunteer groups, all dedicated to promoting his beloved Social Circle.

Paul passed away at the first of the month and I was surprised a few days later when, after calling me to thank me for a story on Paul in the Tribune, his widow, Nancy, asked if I would be a pallbearer at his funeral.

I told her I’d be honored.

So on Thursday, after pulling a suit coat out of mothballs (it fit around the shoulders, but it’s a good thing no one asked me to button it up) and putting on a tie for the first time in months, I helped accompany Paul Posner on his final journey in Social Circle.

It was heartening to see so many come out to say goodbye to a man who had done so much to represent his chosen hometown.

People reflected on what he had meant to them and to Social Circle in general.

And I, too, said farewell to one of the first friends I made on the job here at The Walton Tribune. 

I’ll miss that drawling introduction he gave me every time: “It’s the Georgia Bulldog.” But I won’t forget it, or him. 

Stephen Milligan is news editor of The Walton Tribune, a sister publication of The Covington News. Email comments about this column to stephen.milligan@waltontribune.com.