COVINGTON, Ga. — Freddy Morgan has been promoted to Covington’s assistant city manager, City Manager Scott Andrews announced late Tuesday night.

Morgan, who previously served as the city’s electric director, was selected from a group of 70 “very high caliber” candidates from across the U.S., Andrews told The Covington News. He said 50% of the candidates were from out of state and 70% had advanced degrees. Six internal candidates made the top 25 list; four received a second, final interview, Andrews said.

“A great deal of gratitude is due to (Human Resources) who helped me screen the initial candidates and perform countless phone interviews to get to the top 25,” Andrews said. “On Friday, (Oct. 16), the top seven candidates met with me at the airport for the final interviews. Two candidates flew in to Atlanta from out of state (Colorado and Vermont respectively); one drove from metro-Atlanta.”

Andrews said he tapped 11 staff members and several local city/county managers to ensure a fair interview process.

“At the end of a long day of final interviews, both the staff panel and the city manager panel had the same top four candidates,” Andrews said. “They were our four internal candidates; Ashlan Webb, Asher Dozier, Freddy Morgan and Trey Sanders.”

Following the interviews on Oct. 16, Andrews said he spent time speaking with other staff members who were not on the interview panel to “get more insight.” 

“I cannot begin to brag enough about these four individuals,” he said. “I am so very proud of them and the growth of our entire team during my first year. It is a privilege for me to work with and serve them. The city/county Managers involved in the process with me were floored with the level of talent in the City of Covington. We put the staff through such a complete process and the candidates (and our organization) will be better because of it.”

After speaking once more with the finalists Tuesday, Oct. 27, Andrews announced his decision to select Morgan.

“Freddy provides boundless optimism, leads by example in all that he does, and is a total team player,” Andrews said. “I am blessed to have a team stocked with talent. Freddy will make the City of Covington proud.

“This is just the beginning; the groundwork is now in place for an amazing run for Team COV.”

Morgan has been electric director for the city since September 2017. From December 2004 to September 2017 he was the operations and maintenance supervisor for Marietta Power. He was the energy service supervisor for the city of Cartersville from Aug. 1995 — Dec. 2004. 

He graduated from Southern Polytechnic State University with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in business management, and has a Masters of Business Administration degree from Shorter University. 

Morgan was a finalist for Covington’s city manager vacancy in November 2019 that was later filled by Andrews.

“I am humbled and honored to be chosen for the assistant city manager position,” Morgan said. “I would like to thank Scott Andrews for the opportunity, and for his support and trust. I look forward to serving the citizens and employees of Covington in this new capacity."

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is made available.