Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter spoke Tuesday night at Bainbridge State College. Carter spoke briefly to the audience in the Charles H. Kirbo Center about his time in the White House, his humanitarian work he conducts presently and about his life growing up in South Georgia.
Then with Bainbridge State College President Richard Carvajal, Carter answered questions from the audience in a question and answer session, where he was asked about practicing his faith in the White House, his first date with his wife Rosa and a child asked what his first day in the oval office was like.
The event was historical, Carvajal said, because this was the first time the college had hosted a U.S. President in its 40-year history.
Carter first spoke about his connection to Bainbridge — giving mention to the late Bainbridge native Charles H. Kirbo who served as an advisor to Carter before and during his presidency, notably in an auditorium bearing Kirbo’s namesake.
“We have a memory of Charles Kirbo that is remarkable,” Carter said. “I have never had a man in my life who meant more to me than Charles Kirbo than my own father. He was the wisest man I had ever met.”
Carter reminisced on how he asked Kirbo to take the United States Senate Seat for Richard Russell after Russell died, but Kirbo turned him down.
“I think that was typical of him,” Carter said. “He was so modest he did not want to promote himself, but wanted to promote the things on which he stood.”
Kirbo lobbied for a college to be built in Southwest Georgia while he was an attorney in Atlanta in 1971 and lobbied for it to be located in Bainbridge. Kirbo donated more than 160 acres of the 173 acres the main campus presently sits on.
Carter also spoke about his time in office, saying he, “prayed more fervently while in office,” than he had in his entire life, when asked about how his faith played a role while being in the White House.
Carvajal read questions from the audience and spoke with Carter on stage, the two facing each other in chairs.
“I love the array of questions that we got from folks,” Carvajal said after the event. “They really helped us delve into who he was as a man. I had wonderful time, and my sense is that everyone here had a wonderful time.”
Carvajal also said it was incredible to know the college brought someone to the campus and to Southwest Georgia who had been at one time the leader of the free world.
“We all got to have a glimpse into what his life has been like, both professionally and personally,” Carvajal said.
Carter spoke candidly about his personal life, joking about forgetting his mother in their home on the way to the White House his first day in office and how he met his wife Rosalynn as he was, “cruising down the street through Plains one night.”
Lining the Kirbo Center auditorium were members of the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department and officers from various agencies around the area.
James Spooner, Chief of Police for Bainbridge State College said the school officers had help from Bainbridge Public Safety, the county, Attapulgus safety officers and more.
“It was a little stressful but we had lots of help,” Spooner said about running security detail along with the Secret Service for the former president. “The Secret Service was great to work with, they were a great group of guys and were very helpful. They were complimentary of how much help we had here.”
More than 25 local officers helped throughout the event for security.
Carter’s visit to Bainbridge State College was part of the inaugural Arts & Lecture Series which has featured several authors, poets and other performers.