Chairman
Melvin Davis was born and raised in Rome, Georgia, on a 150-acre farm. He
graduated from Model High School. While there, he was a District and State
4-H Officer and State winner in the Public Speaking program. He served in
leadership roles as a camp counselor at Rock Eagle 4-H Center during
collegiate summers.
Chairman Davis attended Mercer University, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural
College, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Poultry Science
and a Masters degree in Agriculture Extension Education from the University
of Georgia. He did postgraduate work at the University of Georgia and
Louisiana State University.
Chairman Davis worked as County Extension Agent in Elbert County. He spent
19 years as a District 4-H Leader for 36 Georgia counties and was
responsible for coordinating
4-H
educational programs. Subsequently, he became District Extension Director
for 40 Georgia counties with responsibility for supervising over 200
employees and managing a $4 million dollar budget. Mr. Davis retired from
the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service in 1993. He has
served the Oconee County community in various positions with local
organizations as follows:
-
Former President,
local PTA
-
Former President, Church Recreation League (forerunner
of Oconee County Recreation Program)
-
Past Chairman, Oconee
County Board of Elections
-
Member, Mars Hill
Baptist Church
-
Member, Oconee Rotary
Club
-
Member, Clarke-Oconee Cattlemen’s Association
-
Member,
Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation.
Chairman
Davis is past chairman of the Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center
and is currently serving as Chairman of the Upper Oconee Basin Water
Authority. He served as Chairman of the Madison, Athens-Clarke, Oconee
Regional Transportation Authority (MACORTS). He currently serves on the
Executive Committee of the Board of Managers for the Association County
Commissioners of Georgia. Chairman Davis was appointed by Governor Sonny
Perdue to serve on the State Workforce Investment Board, the Governor’s Task
Force for Improving State Service Delivery to Counties, and the Georgia
Public Defender Standards Council. He was also recently elected to serve as
3rd Vice President of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG).
Chairman
Davis and his wife Esther have resided in Oconee County for 42 years. They
have three daughters and seven grandchildren: Diana and Troy Beckett (Tyler,
Kyle and Megan), Bonnie and John Sims (Evan and Audrey), and Amanda and
Brian Kane (Chase and Amber).
JIM LUKE, COMMISSIONER
(POST 1)
E-mail:
jluke@oconee.ga.us
Commissioner Jim C. Luke is an Oconee County native. He was born and raised
in Bogart, graduated from Oconee County High School, attended Georgia
Southwestern College and the University of Georgia, and married another
Oconee native, Phyllis Sims, in 1971. After moving to Atlanta in 1973 where
he managed a manufacturing plan for Woolley and Company, he opened his first
hardware business in Lawrenceville. Jim and Phyllis returned “home” in
1990 with their two children, Suzanna and Evan. Today they operate two
successful businesses in Athens and Watkinsville.
Always active in the county, Jim’s official service in Oconee County began
in 1993 with his appointment to the state mandated committee to write the
Oconee County Comprehensive Plan. He has since served in the following
capacities:
-
1996-2003 Oconee County Planning Commission Secretary
-
1998-2004 Oconee County Development Authority Member
-
2001-2003 Oconee County Republican Party Chairman
-
2003-2004 Ordinance Review Committee Member
-
2005-Present Oconee County Board of Commissioners Post 1 Commissioner
-
2005-Present Upper Oconee Water Basin Authority Alternate Member
-
2006-2008 Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board Vice Chairman
-
2009-Present Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board Chairman
Jim also completed the Certified County Commissioner Training Program in
2007.
Jim and Phyllis, and Bogey the dog, currently live in Jennings Mill where
Jim looks forward to visits with their first grandchild, Caroline, and
getting in a few rounds of golf when he can. Jim considers it an honor to
have the opportunity to dedicate his time and abilities in service to fellow
Oconee County citizens and encourages his constituents to contact him at any
time.
JOHN DANIELL, COMMISSIONER
(POST 2)
E-mail:
jdaniell@oconee.ga.us
John Daniell is a 41-year old native of Oconee
County. He was born in Athens in June 1967 to two Oconee County
natives-Tommy Daniell and Paulette Hunter Daniell. He attended
Oconee County schools from the 3rd grade until graduation, missing the early
years due to his father's Air Force duty. After graduating from Oconee
County High School, he attended the University of Georgia. While in school
at UGA, he became engaged and married Christina Mallory in May 1987. The
couple are blessed with five beautiful children ranging in ages from 4 to
18-all girls except four boys. The family attends Elder
Road Baptist Church and John teaches a high-school class in Sunday School.
John is employed full-time as the Vice
President of Operations at Boswell Oil Company in Athens, GA. and has been
there for 12 years. He holds an Accounting degree from the University of
Georgia . He has work experience in retail management, law
enforcement, accounting, and has held a position on the Board of Education.
John feels honored to serve you, Oconee
County, as a commissioner and hopes you will pray for him in this role.
MARGARET
HALE, COMMISSIONER
(POST 3)
E-mail:
margarethale@oconee.ga.us
Commissioner
Margaret S. Hale was elected to office in 2001. She was born and raised in
Savannah, Georgia where she graduated from Saint Vincent's Academy in 1979.
In 1980 she moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia. In 1984
she married Michael Hale and they relocated to Oconee County. They live in
the Farmington community and have two children, Brad and Beth.
Margaret is
employed by the University of Georgia Libraries where she is an
Administrative Specialist to William G. Potter, University Librarian and
Associate Provost. She is currently pursuing a business degree at Darton
College.
Margaret has
been active in the community since moving to Oconee County. Some of the
activities include Oconee Recreation programs, Oconee Little League Officer,
March of Dimes and the American Heart Association.
She is a
graduate of the Certified Commissioner Advanced Program and is currently the
county coordinator for the Georgia Civic Awareness Program for students.
CHUCK
HORTON, COMMISSIONER (Post 4)
E-mail:
chorton@oconee.ga.us
A native of
Brunswick, Georgia, Chuck graduated from Brunswick High School and then
entered the University of Georgia where he was awarded a full four-year
football scholarship. At the University of Georgia, Chuck earned three
degrees - a B.A. in Political Science, a B.B.A. in Personnel Management, and
a M.Ed in Safety Education. In addition, Chuck is a graduate of the
Southern Police Institute in Louisville, KY. Chuck worked for the
University of Georgia Police Department for over 28 years, the last 16 years
as Chief of Police. He retired from his position as Director of Public
Safety/Chief of Police on August 1, 2004.
Chuck and his
wife of 33 years, Brenda, have lived in Oconee County for over 28 years.
Both of their children, Nicholas (30) and Courtney (26), were educated in
the Oconee County public schools before going to Presbyterian College where
both earned their bachelor’s degrees.
Nicholas is married to Lindsey
Kathryn McCabe of Dallas, Texas. They reside in Dallas, Texas with their
daughter, Finley Kathryn. Courtney is
married to Philip Bernardi of Marietta, Georgia. They reside in
Jefferson, Georgia.
During Nicholas
and Courtney’s years in public schools, Chuck volunteered as a Little League
baseball coach, a recreation department basketball and football coach, and
held various offices in school PTOs. He is a current member of the
University of Georgia Presidents Club, the Oconee County Relay for Life
Organizational Team and the University of Georgia Football Letterman’s
Club. Chuck currently serves as chairman of ACCG's Public Safety and the
Courts Committee and ACCG Region IV Regional Advisory Council for the
Department of Homeland Security/FEMA. Chuck serves as a lay football coach
at Oconee County Middle School and can be found substitute teaching in
Oconee County schools when needed. He and Brenda are members of Oconee
Presbyterian Church where Chuck serves as an Elder and chairman of the
Strategic Planning Committee. Chuck is a former member of the Board of
Directors of the Georgia Children’s Chorus, the American Red Cross Hero's
Breakfast Committee Chair, and the Northeast Georgia Girl Scouts Nominating
Committee.
Chuck was
elected to serve a four-year term as a member of the Oconee County Board of
Education in1992. He was then elected to serve a four-year term as Chairman
of the Board of Education beginning in 1997. During Chuck’s tenure the
Board of Education faced many challenges including: being the first school
system in Georgia to be challenged under Title IX, construction of a new
elementary school, construction of a new middle school, planning for the new
high school, development of new attendance zones, construction of a new bus
center, and various school renovations. Following his tenure as Chairman,
Chuck did not seek re-election. His youngest child had graduated from
Oconee County High School and he felt that office was best held by someone
with children in the school system.
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