As a leader with the local Meals on Wheels, Cynthia Bennett oversees the delivery of nearly 30,000 meals to Coweta County residents each year. She also serves as vice president of the Coweta Democratic Party and works with the local chamber of commerce.

“My resume is a quilt,” said Bennett. “The job titles don’t seem to match each other; they’re all blended together to form this giant voyage of discovery.”

Of all her titles, she said she’s most proud of her work with Meals on Wheels, which began as an opportunity to help a family member.

“My mother was a part of the organization and as she grew older, she couldn’t keep up with all of the work, so I stepped in to help,” said Bennett, recalling she thought it would be a temporary arrangement. Even while working a full-time job, she delivered meals, sometimes using her lunch hour to get them out to the many seniors on her route.

As she grew more engaged, she realized there was more to the organization than elderly people and food.

“There was this part of society I never knew existed, and it really got ahold of me,” she said, noting that she soon knew she wanted to honor her mother’s commitment by following in her footsteps. “I didn’t know anything about how nonprofits work. I had to learn how a board operates, how to write grants, budgeting, insurance. It was a lot.”

Operating funds come from donations and grants and, as with most nonprofits, there’s always a need for more. Luckily for Meals on Wheels, hearing the word “no” when she’s requesting funds does not
stop Bennett.

“It just means I listen to what the person is telling me, and then I go off and find a way to get them to tell me ‘yes,’” she said.

Her strategy seems to be working.

Newnan Mayor Keith Brady is always on the lookout for the next best thing – for Newnan, that is.

“We’re never done,” he said of his work as mayor since first elected in 1993. “There’s always more we can do to improve our quality of life here in the city.”

One of those “next best things” involved a campaign promise Brady made in 1998 to provide a solution for children coming home to empty houses after school. Troubled by the lack of meaningful activities for kids, the mayor made his case for change and, with the help of the City and a community development block grant, raised the money to open a Boys & Girls Club on Wesley Street. He remembers an event held to promote awareness.

“We wanted to have a cookout at one of the local elementary schools and went out to buy enough to feed 50, and more than 150 showed up,” he recalled. “I’d say it was a very successful day.”

Some kids served in the club have gone on to attend West Point and the Air Force Academy, according
to Brady.

“These are generational accomplishments,” he said of the lives touched as a result of the club.

He’s proud to include the City’s involvement in the new University of West Georgia campus on his list of achievements, noting the impact the project has had on the community.

“These are accomplishments that will leave a lasting impression,” he said. “And it’s all been a collective effort by the citizens here in this great city, but there’s still more to do.”

Renae Carl started her Facebook group page in 2011. In the nine years since, she’s watched the ranks swell to almost 19,000 members.

Love her or hate her, the feisty Carl and her tribe are a force to be reckoned with. Word on the street is, “If you didn’t see it on ‘Chatty,’ it ain’t real.”

Carl arrived in Newnan in 2006 and soon found herself in need of professional services: a good lawyer and a good plumber. The proud wife of First Sgt. Scott Carl had relied heavily on her friends before and was now in a new community.

“Back in our Army days, I was used to reaching out to other wives for help, and here I was, in a new town without my support system,” she recalled. “I didn’t know who to call, so I just put it out there on Facebook.”

That support system has grown exponentially, evolving into Chatty Newnan Women, which Renae says is more than just a good source of information; for many, it’s been a lifeline, especially during the recent pandemic.

Renae credits the women themselves, saying, “The best part about this page is when times of crisis hit, it’s really refreshing to see so many women come together for good. We’ve gone above and beyond for each other. We’ve made each other mad, but we’ve kept it local and made it work for good, too.”

Bob Coggin spent 42 years with Delta Airlines, beginning as a ramp service agent in Atlanta and eventually becoming the executive vice president of marketing. He was one of four senior officers appointed to Delta’s newly created Executive Council, which ran all phases of the airline.

Coggins retired in 1998 and formed Alpine Consulting. A past Newnan City Council member, his civic and community involvement includes serving at Newnan Presbyterian Church, Newnan-Coweta Boys and Girls Club, Newnan campus of the University of West Georgia, Coweta Samaritan Clinic and Flint River Council of Boy Scouts of America.

The Sargent native served as governmental affairs liaison for the Newnan-Coweta Chamber and was named its 2016 Citizen of the Year.

This year, his leadership in raising $100,000 to honor Joe H. Harless culminated with the dedication of the Joe H. Harless Simulation Lab at the University of West Georgia at Newnan.

On the executive committee of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl for most of the past three decades, Coggins has been instrumental in helping decide what organizations benefit from the Peach Bowl, which donates more money to charity than any other bowl.

Since the early 1990s, the Peach Bowl has donated $53.8 million to various charities, according to Coggins. In 2019, the Bowl donated $20 million to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

While serving with the Peach Bowl, Coggin set a record for an individual selling tickets when he sold more than 3,300. He was named to the Bowl’s Volunteer Hall of Fame in 2014.

Herb Cranford Jr. is the youngest district attorney in Georgia. A product of Newnan, he is an example of how being ready for new challenges is important.

“It was a matter of timing,” he said of his appointment in 2018. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

A go-getter, Cranford wasted no time in establishing his priority list. At the top is the victim advocate program and an increased dedication of resources.

“We seek victim input in all cases and give great weight to how victims want their case handled,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re communicating our concern and commitment to these individuals.”

Another focus is on gang prosecution.

“We’ve brought in an investigator specifically to help us with the growing issue of gang violence and we’re seeing some real progress in that area,” he said.

As a third-generation prosecutor in Coweta, Cranford said he’s proud to serve in the community where he grew up and appreciates the opportunity to effect real change for the good of his hometown.

Growing up in Newnan, John Daviston made it a point to be a friend to everyone in the community and has continued that practice to this day as the owner and president of McKoon Funeral Home.

“Understanding the importance of cultivating a team of caring, compassionate individuals at McKoon Funeral Home & Crematory, we have built a team that always puts the needs of grieving families first,” said Daviston. “Each McKoon team member is dedicated to loving families through the grieving process. One of my greatest blessings is that I have been able to work side by side with my father while serving the families in our community.”

The funeral home has been a fixture in Newnan since 1918. In 1986, it was purchased by Terry Daviston, who sold it to his son John in 2005.

John believes one of the family business’s greatest accomplishments has been achieving a company culture that continuously seeks new and innovative ways to serve families.

“They trust us with the most important things in their life – their loved ones,” said John, expressing pride in how McKoon team members rose to the challenge to serve families during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had to quickly change and adapt how we serve families and conduct funerals,” he said, “but we never changed in our commitment.”

Michael Fouts is taking the phrase “slow-moving” out of the government sector vocabulary and replacing it with “front-door service.”

“There’s a stigma associated with public service,” said the Coweta County administrator. “We’re interested in serving citizens and customers more effectively, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries and personal agendas.”

Coming from a technology career in the higher education sector, Fouts provides a fresh perspective to the office by adding another level of expertise – the technology component.

“Through our website, social media and our Citizens Academy, we’ve been able to educate the public on what we do and how to access our services,” he said.

Navigating the system during the COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges in the County government’s 35 departments, according to Fouts. The Tag Office, for example, adjusted operations to offer appointments while the facility was closed to the public during the pandemic. Fouts has worked with the tax commissioner to implement a virtual queuing service, which will allow residents to schedule appointments online and get in line virtually before they arrive in order to avoid waiting.

Last year, Fouts used his problem-solving skills to launch a combined department titled Community Development, streamlining the building permit, business license, development review, planning, zoning and fire marshal divisions into one.

“Before, customers had to go to multiple, physically separated departments,” he said. “Now, it’s a single centralized service center.”

Fouts says transparency in county government means a lot to him.

“Providing citizens with the information behind the services is important to us,” said Fouts. “We want to be able to point to the data that supports what we are saying and tie it back to the budget.”

Robert Hancock is fairly soft-spoken, but don’t let that fool you. He has opinions.

An unabashed supporter of the Arts, Hancock had the vision to introduce a local artist-in-residence program, Newnan ArtRez, which kicked off in 2015. Since then, the active program has brought to town dozens of world-renowned artists who have left the community richer in their wake.

Along with area artists and art patrons, others affected by Hancock’s community involvement include local restaurateurs. Thanks to his outspoken initiative, for which he received death threats, liquor by the drink was made legal in Newnan in April 1996.

Hancock said he was “tired of having to drive to Old National Highway to get a decent meal with a drink.” So he led a charge to change the rules.

“I believe it opened the doors for many restaurants to come to the community,” he said of the measure.

Hancock currently practices real estate law at Glover and Davis in downtown Newnan and has been a key player in bringing businesses into the county, including Piedmont Newnan Hospital.

“I was honored to be a part of that success,” he said.

The founder of Kingdom Connected Ministries International in Newnan, Debra Harris is a woman on fire. The retired Coweta County educator is also the founder and leader of Ignite the Fire Movement, a group dedicated to prayer, love and unity through the Spirit of Christ.

“I believe He [Christ] has allowed us to be instrumental in bringing churches, organizations and races together for one cause, the cause of unity,” she said.

Harris and her prayer group were instrumental in efforts to lead Newnan through one of its most tumultuous days in recent history when a National Socialist Movement rally in downtown Newnan attracted Antifa protesters.

“On April 21, 2018, we showed the world that we will love instead of hate,” she said, stating her motto as: “Love conquers all.”

Striving for unity in the fight for racial reconciliation, Harris was honored to initiate the first step by participating in a Black History Celebration service in 2018 at First Baptist Church in Newnan. Kingdom Connected Ministries continues to be a prayer source and connection for the police department and sheriff’s office, hosting annual prayer rallies for officers during National Police Week.

Leading her organization by providing community outreach, food, clothing and household items, she gives back to those around her.

“Our efforts are more about building relationships over material blessings,” she said. “Newnan has become a better place to live because we have caring people who understand the need to love and care for each other regardless of race, culture or religion. We still have work to do, but we’ve put our hand to the plow.”

Suzanne Helfman won’t take all the credit for the renaissance of Senoia, but she said she’ll humbly grab a “little piece of it.”

Originally from Los Angeles, Helfman and her husband Sam moved to Senoia in 2002 to open The Culpepper House Bed and Breakfast on Broad Street. It was one of five businesses in town at the time. It wasn’t long before Senoia’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) came calling. Made up of the four other business owners, the DDA asked if she would join them in getting their little city going.

Suzanne, a lover of history and all things old, couldn’t resist the challenge. With her fellow business owners, she began the arduous task of building the city she now affectionately refers to as her “sweet little town.”

The push turned to tourism, and they used their standing with the National Registry of Historic Places as a selling point to bring people in. After a state official told her that the DDA would have to set design guidelines in keeping with the preservation of historic buildings, she enlisted the help of architects Jim and Todd Strickland of Historical Concepts. Soon the empty lots and gaps in the streetscape started to disappear.

The DDA eventually decided it was time to take the town to the next level. Based on advice received from county and state officials, they started a Heritage Traveler tourism push, opening a welcome center stocked with T-shirts and coffee mugs to lure people in from all over the country. Suzanne fondly remembers the Florida couple who came to visit and was so enthralled they went home, sold their house and moved back to the city. So appealing was Senoia’s charm that Southern Living magazine constructed two of their Idea Houses there – one in 2010 and another in 2012

Cynthia Jenkins grew up in the Rocky Hill neighborhood of Newnan, graduated from East Coweta High School and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and now heads up the Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity as CEO.

The 16-year Newnan City Council member was instrumental in bringing to life Newnan’s Pastors and Leaders Luncheon, introduced in 2018 to promote local unity after white supremacists and Antifa members descended upon downtown Newnan. The luncheon is hosted monthly with local church and business leaders gathering to discuss current events and connect people.

“The luncheon was started as an idea, brought to the table by Herb Cranford, that got traction through our efforts to pull together a unity service,” said Jenkins. “My hope is that it is part of a growing effort of inclusion and community unity.”

Jenkins said she is “most proud” of the Howard Warner Community Center project that created a second location for the Newnan-Coweta Boys & Girls Club, which provides after school and summer activities for children and supplies community space for gatherings and sports activities. The Newnan Youth Council is another of her favorite projects. For a decade, the program has developed leadership skills for students in grades 10-12.

“They are the official youth voice in the City of Newnan,” said Jenkins. “We have had a great diverse group of students come through our program. We have come full circle with three former youth council members who moved back to Coweta and are now paying it forward as youth activities commissioners supervising the Newnan Youth Council. It’s been a blessing to see the students grow and mature into leaders who go on to college, graduate, get jobs, get married and move back home equipped to lead us into the future.”

Dennis McEntire started bringing folks together a long time ago.

In the 1990s, when the county was experiencing tremendous growth, communications between city officials and business leaders had become strained as stakeholders struggled to deal with challenges of a newly emerging economy. It was then that Coweta’s own master of the “meet and greet” – McEntire – and his friend, the late Cliff Adams, hatched a plan to bring the community together in a unique way.

“We were working separately instead of as a team, and we wanted everyone to come together with no agendas and share ideas,” McEntire recounted. “Cliff and I figured if we could cook supper and get everyone together, we could solve some problems.”

The Adams Supper, named after McEntire’s partner in promoting communications, is now held twice a year. While it started with about 25 attending, the event now draws 250 people, proving that good food and fellowship go a long way to work through a problem, according to McEntire.

Local farmer Carl McKnight has played an integral part in Coweta’s history, bringing it from the fields of yesteryear to the busy city it is today.

As the Parks and Rec Director, McKnight spent his days driving an old county pickup truck through countless Coweta roadways, checking in on parks, ballfields and senior centers around the county.  “From Grantville to Arnco, Senoia and Andrew Bailey,” he recalled. “I put some miles on that truck.”

“I had to replace those seats three times,” McKnight said when recounting his experience of driving the truck until it was 27 years old, making it a prime example of his conservative budgeting skills. Never one to waste resources, McKnight says he learned to manage what he was given and “make it stretch out.”

Among his accomplishments: Whitlock Park, Coweta Fairgrounds and the Coweta Soccer Fields.

In his role as director, McKnight had a keen eye to pinpoint where the growth was happening and provide the infrastructure needed. During his tenure, the youth recreation program went from 40 to more than 600 kids participating, according to McKnight, who said one thing he loved most about his job was working with children and seeing them grow into productive citizens.

Catching kids at “teachable moments” was and still is important to McKnight, he says: “They are our future.”

Emory Palmer was one of the youngest superior court judges in the State of Georgia when he took the judgeship in 2013. Seven years later, his youthful enthusiasm hasn’t waned one bit.

Palmer is especially interested in cases involving the family, so much so that a few years ago, he lobbied for a grant to add a family violence advocate in the courthouse to assist citizens with issues involving protection.

“It was a chaotic process before,” he recalled. “Victims had to travel to the shelter in Carroll County for assistance, services were limited and, as a result, victims who really needed help couldn’t get it.”

Earlier in his term, Palmer helped design a new management system employing two judges on every court calendar to whittle down a growing caseload.

“We still have case assignments, but we don’t employ it so rigidly that it slows things down,” he said.

Working more efficiently is especially crucial now with the COVID-19 pandemic, and Palmer feels the weight of his position.

“We are responsible for keeping the docket moving, even during a pandemic, and the only way we can do that and resolve people’s cases is by having court, which is a definite challenge under these circumstances,” he said.

The former U.S. Marine remembers what it was like being an attorney and appreciates extending grace to those on the other side of the bench.

“All members of the justice system must work together and it’s important that I create an atmosphere where those members can work together,” he said. “I’m not interested in being a dictator.”

Cleatus Phillips is at the head of the pack when it comes to our next generation of local leaders. The reason why: He knows how to think forward.

“We’ve had many terrific operational accomplishments over the last few years,” said Phillips, citing the accreditation of the Newnan Police Department, along with the improvement of the Fire Department’s ISO Rating from Class 4 to Class 2.

The City has invested a whopping $200 million into the community, including contributing to the construction of the public safety complex and to the conversion of Newnan Hospital to the University of West Georgia.

Phillips reported that, to date, the city is completely debt-free, an achievement he credits to his staff’s commitment to efficiency.

“They keep us in a very strong financial position and I’m very proud of our operations and how we conduct ourselves in a professional and respectful manner,” he said. “This starts with leadership at the council level and goes all the way through our organization. We value our employees, their commitment and their input.”

Mike Robertson

Since Piedmont Newnan opened its doors in 2012, Mike Robertson has overseen a period of tremendous growth at the hospital.

“When I moved to Newnan, people were still traveling to Fayetteville for care, and I didn’t understand it at first,” he recalled. “Newnan has a long history of health care.”

Robertson has focused on growing the services provided by the hospital, including the cardiac, stroke and prenatal programs.

“We want there to be a clear understanding that this is a safe and quality health care option in your own backyard,” he said.

In his time as CEO, Robertson has helped expand what the hospital has to offer by adding new beds, services and physicians – and winning 11 LeapFrog awards along the way. The designation recognizes Piedmont Newnan’s efforts in protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care.

With the recent opening of Exit 44 on Poplar Road, Piedmont Newnan serves even more as an access point for Coweta and surrounding areas.

With the onset of COVID-19, Robertson said the hospital is looking to determine what the “new normal” will be and, in response, to maintain a safe, high-quality environment for patients.

“I’ve been amazed by the support our staff has received from the community,” he said. “They’ve rallied behind our team. To know your community supports you, that’s a big deal.”

A recognized leader in the community and the state of Georgia, State Representative Lynn Smith is known for her ability to listen, learn and lead.

Smith was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1996 and currently serves as chairman for the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee. Her journey into politics was the end result of working behind the scenes to help make her community a better place, something that was instilled in her at an early age by her parents, she said.

“That’s how I was raised,” she recalled. “You get a lot done by not caring who gets the credit but by solving the problem.”

Smith’s involvement in solving problems started when she moved to Coweta County in the late 1960s. Coweta’s school system was undergoing desegregation and, as a teacher at Newnan High, Smith was assigned to a school system strategizing committee.

“The best thing about our desegregation was that it wasn’t big news,” she recalled. “We successfully did it, and I was grateful to have a role.”

Over the years, Smith continued her involvement in her community through her leadership in a number of local organizations and by spearheading the development of Chattahoochee Bend State Park. She also secured state funding for the development of the Central Educational Center, new construction for West Georgia Technical College’s Coweta County campus, and grant funding to assist Coweta County in the purchase of the Brown’s Mill Battlefield land. NTH

Smith recently worked, along with others, to bring the University of West Georgia satellite campus to downtown Newnan.

Chris Stephens loves technology.

As an electrical engineer and CEO of Coweta-Fayette EMC, one of the state’s 41 electric membership corporations (EMCs), he enjoys designing things, too.

In 2006, Stephens developed one of the country’s first Fault Location Isolation and Restoration (FLISR) systems, designed to detect power line interference and re-feed electricity to unaffected areas, reducing outage time for electric consumers.

In addition to serving with Coweta-Fayette EMC since 1996, Stephens spends time raising money for National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International, an organization created to provide electrification programs in developing countries. It’s an institution dear to his heart and one for which he’s helped raise more than $300,000 to sponsor 90 linemen to set up power systems in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Bolivia.

“We’ve run more than 20 miles of power lines and assisted more than 550 families in those countries,” Stephens said of his work with the organization.

Steve and Marie Swope love Newnan, and it’s obvious by the way they spend their time. Together, the couple serves and supports numerous local causes and charities.

One day a week, every week during the school year, you can find them volunteering at Ruth Hill Elementary in Newnan through Elevate Coweta’s Students, a nonprofit dedicated to mentoring students of all grades. The Swopes read to children and listen to them as they share their lives, hopes and dreams.

Steve recounted his mentoring experience with a child he met there: “I didn’t so much teach him anything but just sat with him, talking with him about books, and encouraging him to keep reading. Now, the little boy is grabbing all the books he can get his hands on. That’s the kind of stuff that motivates us.”

Both raised in families where values of generosity and respect were ingrained, the Swopes find that community is extremely important.

“We believe in staying involved,” said Marie. “We’re able to cross paths with these kids and get to know them and better understand the challenges they face. It’s been a real blessing.”

When he and Marie aren’t helping to mold the next generation, Steve is busy serving the church and community in other ways. A devout Roman Catholic deacon, he has befriended many local pastors in what he calls “an organic ecumenical movement; nothing formal, but it’s a way to reach out to serve people from a faith standpoint. It’s helped to facilitate an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding among the denominations.”

Steve points to a good example being the annual Lenten Luncheons leading up to Easter each spring with people of all faiths gathering to share a meal and fellowship.

Unity is the key, according to Steve.

“As Christians, we agree on 98% of doctrine and can achieve greater unity by focusing on what we have in common,” he concluded.

As a lifelong Cowetan, Jim Thomasson has invested heavily in real estate in downtown Newnan and throughout Coweta County, bringing much-needed attention to several corners of the county.

As the founder of 75 Jackson, a real estate investment and management firm, Thomasson said the guiding principle behind his approach to real estate and development is going above and beyond to make the community a better place for everyone. 

“We want to do more than is expected from the city and county ordinances regarding design and landscaping,” Thomasson said. “Growing up here, I want to see Newnan be the best it can be.”

He is also dedicated to increasing opportunities for fitness in Coweta County and believes that growing a healthy and active community is the best way to attract new businesses and residents to the area. Thomasson spearheaded the creation of the LINC trail system, which aims to provide connectivity between local neighborhoods, schools and shopping districts for a safe way for people to ride a bike or walk.

“What we’re going through right now with COVID-19, things like walking, running and bike riding have made the LINC even more valuable to our community,” Thomasson said. “Our goal with anything we do is giving it as much as we possibly can as a way of giving back and planning for the future.”

Lynn Westmoreland represented Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District from 2005 to 2017 and previously served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003. He now sits on the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) board and was instrumental in several large projects in Coweta, including the new Poplar Road exit off Interstate 85 and bringing Cancer Treatment Centers of America to Newnan.

“If anything I could have participated in really benefited all Cowetans, it was the Poplar Road project, which ensured everyone had easy access to health care, especially in an emergency situation,” he said. “And helping bring CTCA here has proven to be a tremendous economic growth for Coweta County
and Newnan.”

Last summer, Westmoreland was named chairman of an advisory board for Conservatives for Clean Energy Georgia.

He maintains ties to Washington D.C. where he travels monthly to serve on the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics, and he also serves as chair of Fair Lines America, a national redistricting group to ensure fair lines are drawn after the 2020 census of congressional districts.

“There’s no I-team; there’s only a we-team,” he said.

Although he’s accomplished much in the community during his long and distinguished career with Coweta schools, he’s probably best known for his role in the development of the Central Educational Center (CEC) in Newnan.

Whitlock’s approach to teamwork is unpretentious.

“I know I’ve got to have great people and great organizations fully engaged to get things done,” he said. “And that’s about all I’m accountable to do and can take credit for.”

The CEC – recognized for its groundbreaking partnership with the Coweta County School System, West Georgia Technical College and the business community – provides a skilled workforce for Coweta’s manufacturing industry by using the German Apprenticeship model, what Whitlock calls “the gold standard of models.”

The model allows the CEC to focus efforts into areas where the highest skill is required and greatest shortage of skill is present, according to Whitlock who, in 2015, took the model to a new level when he worked closely with then-Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Senator Lindsey Tippins and others to draft Senate Bill Two, legislation designed to allow high school students to substitute high school work for significant technical college credentials. In effect, the law enables students to graduate from high school and technical college simultaneously.

“It’s a systematic approach that is used across much of the state, and Coweta seems to be leading the way in its success,” said Whitlock. “We’re attracting attention and changing the way business and education meet.”

Lenn Wood has been a fixture in the community for decades and knows a multitude of Cowetans on a first-name basis.

“Personal contact is important,” he said of his office. “I want to be the type of person who listens to people, not just tells them what I think.”

He listens so much, in fact, that his wife once asked him if 911 had closed down: “People don’t call 911,” she said. “They call you.”

Wood has a passion for the younger residents of Coweta County. Early in his career as a school resource officer, he saw firsthand the challenges facing kids. Motivated by what he observed, in 2000, he took over the Students Are For Education (SAFE) program, which is modeled after the Drug Awareness and Resistance Education (DARE) program in the public school system.

“We teach kids basic skills and make our own booklets crafted specifically to the needs of Coweta,” he said. “We get feedback from the local board of education, parents and even the students themselves.”

As a bonus, the sheriff’s office saves the County money by printing the booklets and distributing them. The program is so popular that the Georgia Sheriffs Association models their own program, Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety (C.H.A.M.P.S.), after SAFE.

“Officer training is important as well,” Wood said of the County’s three-day intensive Mantracker training program. “We teach vehicle stops, burglary calls and containment procedures, among other things. I’d put our training program up against anyone in the state.”

The annual event attracts around 700 participants from Georgia and surrounding states.