Georgia County Government - May/June 2008 - (Page 15)

Oconee County Chairman Melvin Davis Named ACCG Third Vice President 2008 ANNUAL MEETING O Oconee County Chairman Melvin Davis was named third vice president of the Association Mel Mel in Da is as nam is as m County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) at the group’s 2008 Annual Meeting in Savannah. With the appointment, Davis becomes an officer of the association and is in line to become ACCG president in 2011. Davis moved from the ACCG Board of Managers to the Executive Committee of ACCG in 2006, and last year, in 2007, he was re-appointed for another term on the Executive Committee. As an officer of the association, Davis will now assume a greater role in directing the organization, as well as its policy process, which frames goals for counties statewide through a consensusbuilding process, resulting in a platform counties take each year before the Georgia General Assembly. “Melvin Davis is well known among Georgia counties for his outstanding leadership, regionally, having diligently worked to prepare Oconee County for the demands of growth, including setting examples in terms of environmental stewardship and strategic planning. He will be an enormous asset to ACCG as we continue to help counties meet the stepped-up challenges Georgia’s growth is bringing to counties, urban and rural, all over the state,” said 2007-08 ACCG President Tom McMichael, Houston County commissioner. Davis will continue to work closely with the other members of the ACCG Executive Committee and the ACCG Board of Managers to guide the direction of the association’s policy agenda for 2008-09. The Oconee County chairman is also chairman of the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority, chairman of the Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center and as a policy committee member of the Madison Athens-Clarke Oconee Regional Transportation Study. In 2006, the Oconee official was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to the State Workforce Investment Board. A graduate of Mercer University and Abraham-Baldwin Agriculture College as well as the University of Georgia, where he earned a B.S. in Poultry Science and a Master’s in Agriculture Extension Education, Davis retired as District Extension director for 40 Georgia counties in 1993. Locally, he is also former owner/operator of Classic Italian Ice and has served in numerous civic positions, including as president of the Parent Teacher Association, past chairman of the Oconee Board of Elections, as a deacon and Sunday School teacher for Mars Hill Baptist Church, and as former president for the Church Recreation League. A ACCG Honors Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise With Shackelford Excellence in Public Service Award Georgia Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise garnered the ACCG Wayne Shackelford Excellence in Public Service Award. The award is given yearly to an outstanding individual serving Georgia citizens at the state or national level with distinction, who also has a background in county government. Wise received the award from incoming second vice president of ACCG, Union County Commissioner Lamar Paris. Association County Commissioners of Georgia C ii (ACCG) honored Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise on April 27 with the group’s annual Wayne Shackelford Excellence in Public Service Award. “The association instituted this award to honor an individual now serving Georgians in a state or national office who has achieved a distinguished level of public service and has a background in county government,” said Lamar Paris, incoming 2008-09 second vice president and Union County commissioner, on making the award presentation at the Savannah Civic Center April 29. “Stan Wise, who served Cobb County on its planning commission, its zoning commission, and as a commissioner, is such an individual.” Wise was lauded by ACCG for championing the removal of half the municipal franchise fees levied by cities from Georgia Power Company’s rate base last year, in the face of strong opposition by cities. “The new procedure eliminates 50 percent of the municipal franchise fees paid by unincorporated STAN WISE continued on page 16 MAY/JUNE 2008 www.accg.org 15 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - May 2008

Georgia County Government - May 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters ACCG 2008 Annual Meeting: Highlights County Focus: Clayton County Negotiating a Professional Service Firm Contract: Part 3 Counties Get Involved in Efforts to End Sexual Abuse of Children Smart Growth Scorecard Gives Communities a Way to Grade New Developments Wireless Technologies Critical for First Responders Research Corner: The ACCG Policy Process RDCs Assist the USS Georgia Flag Project Extension News: Animals Take Spotlight in Disaster Planning Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Grady County NACo News: Green Initiative Launches Searchable Database Insurance News: ACCG Announces New Inmate Medical Savings Program County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - May 2008

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