IN BRIEF: Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be the guest speaker at the Rockdale County Rotary meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 19. He will be giving members of the club an agency update and will take questions afterwards. The event will be held at 7:15 a.m. in the Rockdale Medical Center Classroom 2.

Kemp was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in January 2010 while a candidate when Secretary of State Karen Handel stepped down to focus on her gubernatorial bid. Kemp was elected to the seat in November 2010.

Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.

Kemp served in the Georgia State Senate from 2002-2006 and served as Chair of Public Safety and Homeland Security, Vice-Chair of Higher Education, and Secretary of Agriculture & Consumer Affairs. He also served as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He is the owner of Kemp Properties, a small business specializing in real estate investments and property management.

He previously ran for the state Agricultural Commissioner but lost the primary bid.

An Athens native and University of Georgia graduate, Kemp, 47, and his wife and three daughters live in Athens.