Georgia park formally renamed for late state Sen. Jack Hill

FILE - In this April 3, 2009, file photo, Georgia Sen. Jack Hill, R-Reidsville, addresses fellow legislators about the state budget bill from the lower podium in the senate chamber during the last day of the legislative session in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
FILE - In this April 3, 2009, file photo, Georgia Sen. Jack Hill, R-Reidsville, addresses fellow legislators about the state budget bill from the lower podium in the senate chamber during the last day of the legislative session in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)

REIDSVILLE, Ga. (AP) -- A state park in the Georgia hometown of the late state Sen. Jack Hill has been renamed in his honor.

Georgia officials, including Gov. Biran Kemp, gathered at the former Gordonia-Alatamaha State Park park in Reidsville to unveil its new name, news outlets reported Monday.

The State Department of Natural Resources Commissioner also gave Hill's family members a version of the new Jack Hill State Park welcome sign.

"Jack Hill was a great friend. But more important than that, he was a great friend to all Georgians," Kemp said.

Hill died in April at the age of 75.

The former grocer was first elected to the state Senate in 1990 as a Democrat from southeast Georgia and was in his 15th term in the chamber. He switched parties in 2002 and had long served as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes the state budget.

The 662-acre (267-hectare) park features a lake, a golf course, cabins and camping. Former colleagues said Hill would often eat lunch and walk in the park.

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