More than 100 county officials from across the state recently were recognized by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) for completion of the Commissioners Training Program, including local county commissioners Nancy L. Schulz and Earnest Simmons.

The association’s 96th Annual Meeting was held at the Savannah Civic Center in Chatham County on April 30. This and other training programs are offered by ACCG in conjunction with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia and have educated more than 2,600 elected and appointed county officials in the last two decades.

"Our training programs are nationally recognized as an outstanding example of training for county commissioners and other county officials," said ACCG Executive Director Ross King. "We are extremely proud of this year’s graduates, who committed the time to complete these training programs and expand their knowledge in many key areas of local government operations."

In addition, on May 24, local Chairman Kathy Morgan was named the vice chair of the General County Government committee of ACCG. The general county committee is one of six in ACCG that establish the association’s positions on state and federal legislative issues that may impact local government.

In other elected officials’ news, Covington Councilwoman Hawnethia Williams was reelected as the 2nd Vice President of District 5 of the Georgia Municipal Association. GMA was created in 1933 to represent municipal governments in Georgia. Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its members.

In March, Councilman Mike Whatley was reappointed as a member of the State Board of Examiners for Certification of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators and Laboratory Analysts. His term will end in August 2011. This board was created by legislation enacted in 1969 for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety, and welfare by establishing minimum qualifications for persons who operate wastewater treatment plants, wastewater collection systems, water distribution systems, public water supply systems, or who conduct certain tests of water or wastewater samples in conjunction with the operation of public water system or wastewater treatment plants.