About The Lee County ledger. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1978-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 2019)
Led County Ledger Your Hometown Source Of Local News Hometown Newspaper of Susan Rooks Volume XLII- Number 1 Leesburg, Georgia - - September 4, 2019 Fifty Cents Getting to Know Our 2019 LCHS Distinguished Alumnus Billy Mathis - Class of 1978 Billy Mathis Special to the Ledger The fourth recipient of the 2019 Lee County High School Distin guished Alumni is Billy Mathis who graduated from Lee County High School in 1978. Mr. Mathis was an A student and exceptionally good debater while attend ing Lee County High School. He won many awards for his speaking ability and brought home many team victories at a time when it was difficult to do so because many judges in South Georgia were untrained. He won numerous tournaments as well as Region and finally 3rd in state in his junior and senior years. This was particularly a feat to ac complish during the late ‘70s because the Atlanta schools had more experi ence. After graduating from Valdosta State Univer sity earning a B.B.A. degree, Mr. Mathis at tended Woodrow Wilson Law School to pursue a J.D. degree. While at tending law school, Mr. Mathis decided to take the Bar exam for extra practice and passed with only 2 years of study! This accomplishment was most unusual and certainly made his third year of law school more stress free. Billy Mathis has worked for over 30 years as a self-employed civil trial lawyer in the Albany and Leesburg ar eas - Mathis Law Firm, Billy Mathis Attorney at Law. Mr. Mathis was the past President of the Southwest Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and a past Vice Presi dent of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. He has managed to have a very successful practice in the area for many years representing local citizens. Billy is a mem ber of the Georgia Bar Association and contin ues to practice law in the Albany, GA area. Being involved in local politics in Lee County for about 18 years, Mr. Mathis’ professional skills have contrib uted greatly. He has served as Chairman of the Lee County Board of Commissioners from 2001-2003, Vice Chairman in 2000 and 2019-present, Commis sioner from 1999-2006 and 2015-present, and as Chairman of the Lee County Utilities Authority. As a coun ty commissioner, Mr. Mathis has been instru mental in increasing the quality of life in Lee County. During his term of service, Lee County went from a volunteer fire department to a full time fire department. As a result of his efforts, emergency services have expanded and improved with Lee County’s EMS response time being one of the lowest in the state. He is currently involved with the possible hos pital project coming to Lee County. This project hopes to bring better medical care from more specialists, provide citizens a choice for medical care and possi ble lower medical costs associated with hospital competition. Billy has continued to be involved in the debate program at Lee County High School and provide financial assis tance where needed. He also served as judge at local school tournaments when available. He has devoted his time in recent years to trying to help find a debate coach to provide opportunities like those which benefit ed his life. A supporter of the Lee County Public Library, Mr. Mathis has cham pioned the progress of literacy, community, and citizenship in our community. He has con tributed to the growth and expansion of the Lee County Library by advocating for funding, community support, and library services for resi dents of Lee County. Billy Mathis is a proud Lee County resident and proud to have raised two children: Carly Mathis who was Miss Georgia for 2013 and currently studying law at UGA and Tripp Mathis who is currently studying at FSU. He lives with his wife Wendy who serves as a volunteer in many county organizations. The LCHS Dis tinguished Alumni Committee is proud to recognize Billy Mathis as a member of the 2019 Class of Distinguished Alumni. The purpose of this program is to recog nize outstanding alumni who have maintained a high standard of excel lence and distinguished themselves through their work, personal accom plishments, or in the lives of others. These in dividuals exemplify the ideals of the Lee County School System and the community it serves, and thus serve as role models for current and future Lee County High School Students. Three Qualify For Smithville Mayor During the recent qualifying period in Smithville, three people qualified to seek a four year term as mayor. Current Mayor Jack Smith will be seeking reelection. Also qualify ing was Vincent Cutts, a former city council member and seeking her first political office is Jalia Taylor. Ward 1 and 2 on the Smithville City Council were listed in the qual ifying notice. Shalni- ca French and James Champion, the two incumbents, qualified Voters To Decide On Sunday Alcohol Sales Lee County voters will decide at the ballot box the answers to two questions. The answers to the two questions on the ballot will determine wheth er alcoholic beverage can be sold by the drink and if malt bev erage can be sold by package sales. Question 1 on the November 5th ballot is the proposal to allow distilled spirits or al- DOHERTY, DUGGAN, HART&TIERNAN INSURORS Home • Auto • Business • Life/Health P.O.Box 71628 (229)888-2040 Albany, GA 31708-1628 800-628-2040 2301 Dawson Road (31707) Fax (229) 435-3036 www.ddhtins.com Save the Date - October 3, 2019 Lee County Homecoming Parade - 5:30 PM For information email Donna Jones jonesdo@lee. k12.ga.us coholic beverage to be sold by the drink on Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Question 2 on the November 5th bal lot is the proposal to allow package sales of malt beverage and wine on Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ■ST tfelowshpS<nic«S<pport *0*«nfot<#£A • JoAmT otSmoft. GftEAPrMidwtt Sana i i L A 1 Submitted Photo The Georgia Retired Educators Association holds yearly meetings in the fall to kick start the new year and inform all clubs throughout the state of different programs, services, and events. The Lee County Retired Educators attended the one for their district on August 8 at Albany Tech. In attendance at that meeting were President SaraBess Lunsford, Georgia Temples, Linda Cannon, Ann Brown, Debra Smith, and Sandra Parker. These ladies represented Lee County at that meeting. To Subscribe Call 229-759-2413 for reelection and will not face any opposition. The election for the position of mayor in Smithville will be held Tuesday, November 5, 2019. Qualifying for the City of Leesburg election for November 5, 2019 saw only the three incum bents, Bobby Wilson, Richard Bush and Rufus Sherman qualifying without opposition. The election for Leesburg City Council will be cancelled. BHilHiilllii BANK OF LEE COUNTY & BANK OF TERRELL ARE EXCITED TO DO BUSINESS UNDER OUR NEW NAME Georgia Community Bank New Name. Same Faces. Same Commitment. 3000 N. SLAPPEY BLVD. ALBANY, GA 250 E. LEE ST. DAWSON, GA GCB.BANK pDic (=}
