A famed "Survivor" contestant and state court judge admitted Friday that his not being selected for a federal judgeship in Georgia's middle district was the best thing that ever happened to him.
It was an unusual thing for Paschal English to acknowledge, given the fact that he was addressing a gathering of judges and attorneys at an annual seminar sponsored by the Utah chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
As his name sat on the short list for the position, English also rose to the top of a pool of 100,000 applicants to the hit reality series.
He didn't get the job, but he was selected to join 15 others to spend 39 days on a remote island in the South Pacific battling for the $1 million grand prize.
"In retrospect, I think the luckiest thing in my life was when I was not appointed a federal judge and I was able to go on 'Survivor,' " English said.
Slated to speak about "The Ethics of Surviving in the Practice of Law and Life," English touched only briefly on his legal career and his past 15 years on the bench in Georgia's Griffin County. Instead, he focused on his "Survivor" experience.
"I never had an experience move me like this experience moved me," he said. "It was the most physically challenging, physically draining, scariest thing I've ever done in my life."
As one of 450 applicants chosen to move forward in the selection process, English was forced to reschedule his interview with the show's producers because he was in the middle of a felony rape trial.
He eventually made it to the island of Marquesas, where he lost 23 pounds and suffered from severe dehydration.
English befriended Utahn Neleh Dennis, who came in second and lost the grand prize by one vote. English finished in fourth place.
The 58-year-old credited Dennis, who accompanied him to Friday's luncheon, for getting him through the harrowing experience. English now fondly refers to the 22-year-old as his "third daughter."
All the castaways formed strong bonds that have continued long past the final episode, English said.
English has recently come under fire for his televised endorsements for the Atlanta Gas Light Co. In the commercials, English, nicknamed "Pappy" on the show, touts the benefits of natural gas over propane.
The spots have the tag line, "Pappy doesn't do propane."
The state's Judicial Qualifications Commission alleged English violated the canons of judicial ethics by endorsing a specific project, a notion English flatly rejected.
"It had nothing to do with me being a judge," he said. "It solely had to do with my status of being 'Pappy' on 'Survivor.' "
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com