Newspaper Page Text
April 6, 2022
Page 7A
^Reporter
Monroe County Elections 2022
Head vs. Mixon: Board of Education District 3
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Greg Head is seeking reelection
to the Monroe County Board of
Education in District 3. He was
first elected to the board in 2018
and took office in January 2019.
He is a life-long resident of Mon
roe County and a Mary Persons
graduate.
Head studied at Central
Georgia Technical College and
successfully owns and operates
Head Heating & Air Conditioning, which is
based in Monroe County. He and his wife,
Michelle, have been married 22 years and
have five special reasons to be invested in
education and the future of Monroe Coun
ty—three sons and two daughters. Their two
oldest children are students at Mary Persons.
Head was working for Monroe County
before taking his seat on the school board,
active in the Forsyth Monroe County
Chamber of Commerce and serving on
the Monroe County Development Author
ity. He is active in New Providence Baptist
Church.
As a member of the school board during
the pandemic, he was part of some tough
decisions. He advocated for the parent's
right to choose on masking their children
and worked to insure that Monroe County
Schools didn’t mandate masking.
Head is a strong advocate for vocational
education at Mary Persons and Monroe
County Middle School. He has
taken every chance to educate
students and the public about the
opportunities available through
technical and other non-college
pathways. He has fulfilled a
campaign promise by donating
his BOE salary to components of
Mary Persons Career, Technical,
Agriculture Education (CTAE)
program each year.
Head said transparency in
government is very important
to him, and he will continue to
advocate transparency at the BOE, especially
in financial matters throughout the school
system.
If elected to serve the people of District 3
for another four years, Heads goals include
expanding the dual enrollment program
and Advanced Placement offerings at Mary
Persons, expanding the Work Based Learn
ing program to prepare more students for
the work force and improving support for
the teachers authority in the classroom.
Head said he is proud of the Monroe
County School System and of what it has
accomplished over the last four years and
wants to continue representing District 3
on the board. He is glad to talk with anyone
about what the board has done during his
term and about his vision for the future.
“Our astounding school system has great
leaders and has made considerable strides in
academics, but there is still more to accom
plish,” said Head.
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Melissa Mixon is run
ning for Board of Educa
tion District 3. She and
her husband, Kit, moved
to Monroe County in
2005, and their sons, Drew
and Cory, were born in
2006 and 2008. When
Drew entered Hub
bard Elementary School
Mixon became an actively
involved parent and has
continued to volunteer in
various ways at Monroe
County Schools.
She served with the
Hubbard Elemen
tary PTA, first as a board
member and then as
PTA president, until her
younger son moved on to
Monroe County Middle
School. For years, she has
been encouraged to rim
for the Board of Education
seat but she didn’t feel the
time was right until her
sons were a little older.
Now, while her younger
son has another five
years in Monroe County
Schools, the time seems
right.
“It is very
rewarding to be
involved,” said
Mixon. “I think
I could be ben
eficial with the
involvement
and experience
I bring.”
Mixon holds
a degree in
Business Ad
ministration & Manage
ment from the University
of Georgia, and her hus
band is in dental practice
in Macon, giving her
knowledge in the health
care field. She worked for
certified public accoun
tants before turning her
attention to her family
full time when her sons
were born. Since her sons
are older, she has been
involved with the Dug-
out Club, the wrestling
and soccer boosters and
other activities at Monroe
County Middle School
and Mary Persons.
“My focus [in running
for school board] is to
help,” said Mixon. “I want
to be a voice for
students and
teachers. We
need greater
transparency so
people can trust
and believe in the
school system.
Most important
is trust and love
for children.”
Mixon said this
is her first time to
rim for an elected office.
Asked if the decisions the
school board had to make
related to Covid over
the last two years had an
impact on her decision to
run, she said it was nerve
racking as a parent to deal
with the transitions to vir
tual learning, but she felt
the school board handled
the decisions pretty well
and did what it had to do
at the time.
Mixon said she has a
vested interest in Monroe
County Schools and has
had opportunities to in
teract with many parents,
teachers and students over
the last few years.
Jenkins vs. Varnadoe: Board of Education District 5
Robbie Jenkins
of Forsyth an
nounced he’s run
ning for District
5 on the Monroe
County school
board as someone
with deep roots
in the commu
nity, a Christian
conservative and
someone who
will advocate for
parental involvement.
Jenkins said he’s lived and
worked in Monroe County
for all his 56 years. Jenkins,
who works for Georgia
Power, has been married
to his wife Cynthia (Cindy)
Jenkins for the past 28 years.
They live on Jenkins Road.
Many may know Cindy from
the Forsyth United Methodist
Church, she teaches one of
the three-year-old classes in
the Caring for Kids' pre
school program. They have
three adult children Olivia
(Zach) Jenkins Ohl, Nathan
(Annie Patterson) Jenkins
and Leah(Brandon) Jenkins
Fountain, and one grandchild
Mitchell Fountain. He and his
three children
and two of their
spouses attended
and graduated
from the public
school system in
Monroe County
and he said he
looks forward
to some of our
grandchildren
attending
here also. His
grandchildren will be the
fourth generation attending
the Monroe County school
system.
Jenkins said he believes
the fact that he has lived his
whole life and have had much
exposure to the school system
here in Monroe County has
given him a very good under
standing of the school system
and county needs for our
children and grandchildren.
“The main thing that my
wife and I were the most
impressed with when our
children were attending
school is the amount of
parental involvement and
support for the school sys
tem,” said Jenkins. “I deeply
believe that education begins
in the home, Proverbs 22:6
states: ‘Train up a child in the
way he should go: and when
he is old, he will not depart
from it.’”
“Often, we get out of our
children what we put into
them and as parents and
grandparents,” added Jenkins.
“We must encourage and
support positive learning
and discipline at home and
in our schools. We must stay
involved in our children's and
grandchildren's lives. If I have
the privilege to serve on the
board, I will be a strong advo
cate for parental involvement
in every part of our children's
and grandchildren's lives.
I consider myself to be a
Christian conservative, but
the Christian part is first and
foremost and I will make
school board decisions based
on much prayer and direction
from the Holy Spirit. I would
love any thoughts, sugges
tions, and questions concern
ing my decision. You can
email me at: RJenkinsMC@
gmail.com.”
Robbie Jenkins
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Kristi Varnadoe is run
ning for Monroe County
Board of Education
District 5 in her first po
litical election. She brings
a variety of perspectives
relevant to the position to
her candidacy. Varnadoe
and her two brothers are
Mary Persons gradu
ates, her son is in pre
kindergarten at T.G. Scott Elementary,
she has a niece at Mary Persons and a
niece and nephew who will soon enter
Monroe County schools. Her mother,
Vicky Sykes, retired from Hubbard
Elementary and continues to volunteer
as a coach for the Mary Persons March
ing Regiment color guard as she has for
many years.
Varnadoe holds a Bachelor’s degree
from Middle Georgia State and an
M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction—
Accomplished Teaching from Valdosta
State. She is an English/Language Arts
teacher at Howard High School in
Macon and has been teaching for seven
years.
“I want to be part of the excellence
that is Monroe County schools,” said
Varnadoe. “And I can bring a unique
and unbiased perspective as a
parent, student, educator and
community resident.
She said that one thing she
would like to see added in the
Monroe County School System
is more career pathways at
Mary Persons. For example she
said Middle Georgia is expand
ing career opportunities in
the logistics field and it would
be an asset to both students
and the community to have a
pathway that prepared students
for these jobs. Varnadoe said she has
had opportunities to work with the
Hutchings College & Career Academy
in Macon and will bring knowledge
and ideas to the Monroe County board
as it applies for and begins a College &
Career Academy.
“What we want for our kids is the 3
E’s, to be enrolled, enlisted or employed
when they graduate,” she said. “It is
also our responsibility to make sure
the community is involved and feels
welcome in the schools.”
Varnadoe’s parents, Vic and Vicky
Sykes, moved to Monroe County from
Warner Robins in 1994. She is married
to Alex Varnadoe, who is an operator
with Coggins Construction Company, a
boring and utility contractor. They have
one son, Kayden.
Kristi Varnadoe
Bilderback vs. Lanford: Board of Education District 7
Eva Bilderback is seeking reelec
tion to the Monroe County Board
of Education District 7 seat. She
has lived in Monroe County for
22 and a half years and is in her
16th year of serving on the Board
of Education.
She said she first ran for the
board when her youngest son was
a student in Monroe County
Schools. Some of his needs as a
student weren’t being met, and
she felt she could be a voice for other parents
and students who might have concerns that
were different from what other board mem
bers were addressing. She said that through
out her tenure on the board she has tried to be
accessible to everyone in the county, to listen
and to bring their concerns to the board.
Bilderback has three adult children and a
daughter, Nevaeh, who is a 4th grader at T.G.
Scott Elementary. She also has six grandchil
dren and just welcomed a great grandchild on
March 6. She has been an active volunteer at
Monroe County schools during her tenure on
the BOE, particularly at T.G. Scott since Ne
vaeh started school, and feels that involvement
has made her a more informed and proactive
board member.
She would like to serve another term on the
board because she wants to continue to advo
cate for students, parents, teachers and staff.
She has learned a lot through the training she
has received as a board member, including the
conferences she has attended each year. She
has usually completed more board member
training than required each year.
One project that she hopes to
see the board consider is build
ing an elementary school in the
Bolingbroke area as the census in
the school system determines it is
time to add another school. She
said it is often difficult for parents
in Bolingbroke to get to Forsyth
for school activities, and students
commuting from Bolingbroke to
the schools in Forsyth may spend
as much as an hour on the bus. She
has talked with Bolingbroke area parents who
put their children in private school in Macon
primarily so that they can be more involved
with the school.
In a related issue, Bilderback would like to
see air conditioning in all Monroe County
school buses, especially since school now
starts in early August.
Bilderback is married to Mike Bilderback,
who served as chair of the Monroe County
Board of Commissioners. She is retired from
the U.S. Post Office and has been active in
ministries at Mable White Baptist Church
since moving to Monroe County. She finds
work in the women’s jail ministry rewarding,
including playing on the Lady Saints softball
team, which plays against inmate teams and
creates a good rapport for ministry. She sang
in the church choir and is eager to see the
choir return to full capacity again.
“I know we can’t make everyone happy, but
I always want [Monroe County Schools] to
strive to be better, to go from #9 to #1,” said
Bilderback. “We are always looking for ways
to improve.”
Eva Bilderback
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Dr. Rick Lanford is a
candidate for Monroe
County Board of Educa
tion District 7. He has
lived in Monroe County
since 1994 and said that
a major reason for mov
ing to Monroe County
was the school system.
Lanford grew up in
the Rutland community
south of Macon and is
an ordained minister,
and Elder in the South
Georgia Annual Con
ference of the United
Methodist Church.
He serves churches in
Mansfield and Central
Georgia. He serves on
numerous boards in
cluding the Foundation
for the Methodist Home
for Children & Youth;
Wesley Glen Ministries;
Macon-Bibb County
Law Enforcement
Foundation; Georgia’s
Peace Officers Associa
tion Foundation; and as
a local advisory board
member for One South
Dr. Rick Lanford
Bank. He holds leader
ship positions on these
boards and serves as
chaplain for three state
level agencies and Bibb/
Monroe County Sheriff’s
Office.
Lanford said he is
running for the Board
of Education because
education is extremely
important to him. He
has four grandchildren
in Monroe County, and
two of them are attend
ing T.G. Scott Elemen
tary.
“Education is extreme
ly important to me. If
we want to change the
world, then we must first
educate our children and
give them every op
portunity to succeed in
life,” said Lanford. “My
children were given this
opportunity through our
Monroe County School
system and I am grate
ful.”
He said as a board
member he will advocate
parent participation and
work for the board to
examine options and
build consensus.
Lanford and his wife,
Kim, have three daugh
ters, two sons-in-law and
six grandchildren. He
enjoys quail hunting and
fly/bass fishing and time
with his family and bird
dog. His message for
voters is:
“No matter where I am
or in what circumstance
I find myself, I seek to
find the Christ in others.
May they discover the
Christ in me as well.
Please vote for me on
May 24th. I am ready to
serve and help make a
difference for the most
precious commodity we
have in life, which are
our children and youth.”