A native of Atlanta, Paul Earls is the VP and General Manager of Hodge Army Navy Stores in Marietta, Ga. Paul came to the business full-time in 1995 and enjoys the ever-changing environment of surplus, uniforms, insignia, footwear and camping goods. He will gladly furnish you with hand grenades, ammo cans or custom-made dog tags. As son-in-law of the late John Hodge, Paul, along with his with wife Gay, have carried on John’s time-honored tradition of interesting offerings which he began in 1955. Prior to his tenure at Hodge Army Navy, Paul served for nearly ten years as a Director for the Credit Union of Georgia. During his time there he served as Consumer Lending Officer, Credit Card Administrator and Mortgage Underwriter. He is a 1990 graduate of the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates Lending School and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Carson Newman College.

Paul has studied voice, violin and piano, and has sung with many choruses and church choirs. He was a member of the Greenville County Youth Symphony under the direction of Dr. Virginia Uldrich, President of the South Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts . He also sang under the direction of noted conductor and choral director Dr. Arpad Daraz of the University of South Carolina prior to his death in 1986. Paul grew up in a family who loved music and was surrounded by many instruments. His early musical influences, though, were whoever was playing on the 8 track player in the Ford Country Squire or whatever was spinning on the family turntable in the wood-paneled, shag carpeted den. A wide variety of music such as Glenn Miller, Chet Atkins, the Carpenters, Elvis, Kay Starr and the music from Doctor Zchivago and Casino Royale were favorites. He was often accused, however, of “wearing out the groove” of a certain Spanish Flamenco album called Holiday in Spain. This album is reported to still be in service today and, contrary to popular belief, all grooves are reported to be intact.

Presently, Paul and Gay have two children who attend North Cobb Christian School. Their daughter sings in the middle school chorus, and their son is a budding percussionist in the elementary school band. They have two additional family members of the canine variety: a Chihuahua with an ego problem and a “special needs” Beagle who would benefit greatly from a round of sessions with a professional counselor.