James Lafayette Bomar, Jr., who served as president of Rotary International during its 75th anniversary year, is a lawyer and a statesman. As speaker of the House of Representatives in his home state of Tennessee, he signed more than 10,000 bills and other legislation, and his term as lieutenant governor earned him the title “Tennessee’s Outstanding Legislator.” Jim’s English ancestors settled in Virginia in the early 1700s, and his middle name results from their admiration for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general who aided President George Washington.
A farm boy, Jim rose early to help with the chores, then walked to a two-teacher grammar school several miles away.…
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