PLAINS, Ga. (WALB) - Jimmy Carter’s hometown of Plains is back on the National stage as all eyes are on the small South Georgia town.

The city of Plains is home to just over 500 neighbors, yet the small town is about to welcome thousands of people including several media outlets to say goodbye to former president Jimmy Carter.

That prompted Governor Brian Kemp to place Sumter County in a state of emergency.

“It’s not unusual to invite the world to Plains but of course, this is on a different scale because now he’s gone,” said Andrew Greer, Plains resident.

Dewey Paradise, another Plains resident recalled when Pains was crowded during Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign.

“It’s not as much media that was here in the 70′s when he was president but the media coming in and other people coming in, that lets everyone know how well he was thought of,” he said.

Throughout former President Jimmy Carter’s life, the doors to Plains have always been open to the world. After his term as president, he and his wife of over 70 years Rosalynn Carter returned to their humble beginnings in Plains and helped put the rural community on the map.

“He hosted international leaders here, international statesmen, and just friends from all over the world through he and Rosalynn’s travels and their own work from everything, the Carter Center, Habitat for Humanity, all the different initiatives that formed their lives. They always invited them to Plains,” Greer said.

The influx of people expected to be in Plains is requiring all state resources to help out with memorial services. Considering the small size of Plains, additional transportation and public safety personnel will be needed.

“It’s a big deal to invite the world to a small place like Plains and that requires again a lot of planning, a lot of logistics, and things that I don’t even understand but there’s even a palpable energy I think in being excited if you will to prepare this place to bring him home for the last time,” Greer said.

Even though Jimmy Carter is no longer with us, Plains, Georgia will always be the home of the 39th president of the United States.

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