A Gainesville man who headed the Georgia Mountains Area Planning and Development Commission (now the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission) for 20 years has died.
Sam Dayton died Wednesday at the age of 84.
Dayton, who grew up in the Gainesville Mill neighborhood, attended Gainesville High School where he was valedictorian and president of the class of 1953.
As head of the Gainesville-based GMAPDC, which he joined in 1971, Dayton and the team of professionals he headed worked to secure funding for economic and cultural development projects in northeast Georgia. "GMAPDC worked on projects ranging from water treatment plants to childcare access and elder care, from industrial development and the initial stages of Lake Lanier Islands and the expansion of GA-365 to various parks and nature trails in the region," according to his obituary.
Dayton invested in, founded or ran several local businesses in fields as varied as telecommunications, construction, internet services, financial services, and manufacturing. He was most recently a co-owner and CFO of GlobalTech Industries, a manufacturer of candles and other consumer goods. Located in Cornelia, GlobalTech employs over 300 people.
A Celebration of Life Service is scheduled for 10:30 Saturday, Jan. 18, at First Baptist Church of Gainesville.
(A complete obituary can be found on the AccessWDUN Obituaries Page.)
