ARLINGTON, Texas — Former Moultrian Marvin Sutton recently announced his retirement from the Federal Aviation Administration after 37 years and 9 months of service to the U.S. government — 30 years with the FAA and 7 years and 9 months with the United States Air Force.

Sutton was born in Sylvester in 1962 and raised in Moultrie by his mother, Jerlene Sutton. Upon graduating from Colquitt County High School in 1980, He enlisted in the United States Air Force at age 17, where he served honorably as a security specialist securing nuclear weapons and as an air traffic controller. His tours of duty include Kunsan Air Base, South Korea; Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota; Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi; and Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.  

Sutton has been employed with the Federal Aviation Administration as an air traffic controler and lived in Arlington, Texas, for over 30 years. He serves his community as a presiding election judge, a crime watch coordinator, organizer, and political activist. As a result of his service, he was awarded the Ruth E. Roberts Community Service Award.

Sutton graduated from Tarrant Community College Southeast Campus in accounting with 4.0 GPA. His picture is currently displayed on the Wall of Fame in the veterans section at TCC Southeast campus. Sutton also graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Arlington earning a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

In 2014 Sutton was one of the 43 veterans highlighted in the United States Air Force Public Affairs Publication, Veterans In Blue Volume V. His portrait and story were on display in the Pentagon until 2016. The Federal Aviation Administrator shared his story during the 2017 Veteran Day Recognition Ceremony.

Sutton is the Texas State Democratic Executive Committeeman for District 22, which encompasses ten counties, and  co-chair of the Arlington Branch NAACP’s Political Action Committee. He served as a delegate to several the Democratic National Conventions, an  Arlington Independent School District Financial Futures Committee member and a Business Senator at UTA Student Congress.

In 2017 Sutton was a candidate for Arlington City Council and lost by two votes in a runoff election.

He currently is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.