US Congressman. As a teenager he was stricken with polio, but surgery and therapy at Georgia's Warm Springs Foundation enabled him to regain the use of his legs. He graduated from Statesboro's Georgia Southern College in 1956, afterwards working as a teacher and farmer before accepting the position of Director of Member Relations for the Planters Electric Membership Corporation. He then became a Congressional staff assistant, working for Senator Herman E. Talmadge and Representative G. Elliott Hagan. In 1972 Ginn was the successful Democratic nominee for a seat in the US House of Representatives and served five terms, 1973 to 1983. As a Congressman, he was instrumental in preventing the closure of Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, and facilitated the construction of Camden County's Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base and Glynn County's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1982, losing the Democratic nomination to Joe Frank Harris. After leaving Congress Ginn founded the Washington lobbying firm Ginn and Edington and authored "Lawmaker, Lawbreaker", a novel about a group of Congressmen and their illegal quest for power. In 1996 his business failed and Ginn was convicted of bank fraud and served a short prison sentence before retiring to Millen. In retirement he became active in the Baptist church and also chaired the committee that oversaw renovations of Millen Cemetery. Millen's Bo Ginn Aquarium & Aquatic Education Center was named for him. Ginn died from complications of lung and brain cancer.
US Congressman. As a teenager he was stricken with polio, but surgery and therapy at Georgia's Warm Springs Foundation enabled him to regain the use of his legs. He graduated from Statesboro's Georgia Southern College in 1956, afterwards working as a teacher and farmer before accepting the position of Director of Member Relations for the Planters Electric Membership Corporation. He then became a Congressional staff assistant, working for Senator Herman E. Talmadge and Representative G. Elliott Hagan. In 1972 Ginn was the successful Democratic nominee for a seat in the US House of Representatives and served five terms, 1973 to 1983. As a Congressman, he was instrumental in preventing the closure of Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, and facilitated the construction of Camden County's Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base and Glynn County's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1982, losing the Democratic nomination to Joe Frank Harris. After leaving Congress Ginn founded the Washington lobbying firm Ginn and Edington and authored "Lawmaker, Lawbreaker", a novel about a group of Congressmen and their illegal quest for power. In 1996 his business failed and Ginn was convicted of bank fraud and served a short prison sentence before retiring to Millen. In retirement he became active in the Baptist church and also chaired the committee that oversaw renovations of Millen Cemetery. Millen's Bo Ginn Aquarium & Aquatic Education Center was named for him. Ginn died from complications of lung and brain cancer.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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