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3 takeaways from Gov. Deal's State of the State speech

Deal lauded the contributions of Sandra Deal – the retired schoolteacher who became the low key but very busy First Lady of Georgia.
Gov. Nathan Deal with House Speaker David Ralston (left) and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (right)

Gov. Nathan Deal gave his final State of the State speech Thursday to the Georgia legislature. He said it was not a farewell address. He said that at the end of a speech that, to many, sounded an awful lot like one.

The state’s biggest change under his leadership may very well be its newfound presence in the film industry, which he says had added 92,000 jobs in Georgia – the result of generous tax credits for filmmakers.

The speech stressed improvements to Georgia’s technical schools, and the creation of a grant, which pays tech school tuition for 17 high-demand fields. "99.2 percent find employment upon completion of their training and studies," Deal told lawmakers.

RELATED: Transcript: Gov. Nathan Deal's final state of the state address

Deal lauded the contributions of Sandra Deal – the retired schoolteacher who became the low key but very busy First Lady of Georgia.

Deal told lawmakers that Sandra Deal has made 834 school visits over the last seven years. That’s about two-point-three school visits every week – and in every county -- since she became first lady. The Governor noted one thank you letter she’d gotten from a young student "who wrote to Sandra and said, 'thank you for visiting my school and thank you for running the State of Georgia,'" a line which sparked booming laughter in the House chamber.

RELATED: Deal looks back at 8 years in office in final state of the state

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