William H. (Bill) Burson was born July 31, 1928 in Thomaston, Georgia, located in Upson County. After attending primary and secondary school with outstanding performance, Burson graduated as valedictorian from Robert E. Lee Institute in 1945. He worked at the Thomaston Times and wrote for various local papers before he was accepted into the University of Georgia's school of journalism. Burson quickly climbed the ranks as writer for the campus newspaper, The Red and Black, and was active in many student organizations. By the time he graduated with a BA in journalism in 1948, he had achieved numerous honors and been inducted into several honorary fraternities. From college, Burson jumped into the world of journalism as a staff correspondent for the United Press International. Most of his work focused on the actions of the Georgia legislature and the then Governor Herman Talmadge. Soon he was transferred to Mississippi to act as a bureau manager. In 1951, Burson served as a war correspondent while on the frontlines with the U.S. 7th Infantry Division in the Korean War. When he returned stateside, he continued to serve as bureau manager until 1953 when he resigned to serve as an administrative aide to Governor Talmadge. After a year, Burson went on to be the Press Secretary for Georgia House Speaker Fred Hand's campaign for governor. Next he served as Executive Secretary for Attorney General Eugene Cook and subsequently was appointed director of information for the Associated Industries of Georgia (AIG) in 1955. In 1956, Burson withdrew from AIG and returned to Talmadge's staff as an editorial assistant before Talmadge announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. The launch of the campaign allowed Burson to take on the role of Press Secretary, his writing skills used to craft speeches and public statements. Burson continued to serve as Senator Talmadge's executive aide and press secretary until 1962 when he left to serve as the assistant to James L. Bentley, the Comptroller General of Georgia. In 1963, Burson resigned to work as an aide to Governor Carl E. Sanders. Later in the year, he was appointed the Director of the State Board of Probation while still acting as a speech writer for Governor Sanders. As director, he created significant reforms that brought notice to his achievements. In July of 1965, Burson left the probation department to become the assistant to the Atlanta Postal Region Director, within the United States Post Office Department. While in this post, Burson helped to produce speeches for Lester Maddox, most notably his inaugural speech for governor. Burson briefly worked for the State and Local Program Office of the National Federation of Independent Business. In 1975, he was offered an appointment as Administrative Assistant, then Special Assistant (1983-1991), to Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller, and went on to serve as Miller's senatorial campaign coordinator. As Special Assistant to the Lieutenant Governor, Burson was responsible for researching and writing speeches, answering correspondence, and constituent casework. Burson applied for retirement in February 1991 after Miller's gubernatorial inauguration. In retirement Burson worked part-time as a publications clerk at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. Bill Burson passed away on November 11, 1997 at the age of 69; Governor Zell Miller spoke at his funeral. He was married to Lila Laverne Womble, and they had three children - Forrest Brooks, Nancy Leigh, and Mildred Louise (Lu).
From the description of William H. (Bill) Burson scrapbooks, 1933-1997. (University of Georgia). WorldCat record id: 443118934
