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Media Resources The Media Resources page has been constructed to help you find bios, photos and other artwork for various people and places in Hall County. To download an image file, right-click the download link below the biography for the appropriate file. Then click "Save Target As" in the popup menu. Choose the place you want to save the image on your computer, and click "Save." Larry Baldwin earned his B.A. in Accounting from Florida State University, and his law degree from the Emory University School of Law. Following 3 years of private practice, he accepted the position of Assistant Solicitor for Hall County in 1998 and was appointed Chief Assistant Solicitor the following year. In 2004 he became Hall County’s General Solicitor for State Court, and was appointed State Court Judge in 2008. He is the vice president of the board for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County and was chosen as the Gainesville Jaycees’ 2008 Young Man of the Year. Larry is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Gainesville First Baptist Church, Kiwanis Club of Gainesville, the Hall County Republican Party, and the board of the Gateway Domestic Violence Center. Baldwin and his wife, Elisabeth, have twin daughters and live in Murrayville.
Judge Carden is from Cedartown, Georgia, but has lived in Hall County since 1978. She received her law degree from the Lumpkin Law School, University of Georgia in 1975. She received a BA in History and Political Science with honors from Georgia College (now Georgia College and State University) in 1972. She was the Outstanding History Major in 1972.
  Cronic,
SteveHall County Sheriff Steve Cronic was elected as Hall County Sheriff in 2000 and took office January 1, 2001. After entering law enforcement at the age of 20, Sheriff Cronic's professional career encompasses over 21 years and has included working his way through the ranks as an Enforcement Officer for the State of Georgia Department of Transportation, Police Officer for the City of Gainesville, Investigator for the District Attorney's Office, Northeastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia, a Corporate Security Manager, and a Regional Fraud Supervisor for one of the largest and most successful companies in the nation. Sheriff Cronic holds a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice as well as a Masters Degree in Business Administration, both of which he obtained from Brenau University. He is a graduate of the Georgia Police Academy, as well as the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The Sheriff, prior to taking office, donated time to the American Red Cross, served on the Hall County Juvenile Court's Citizen Review Panel, served representing Hall County on the Georgia Mountains Area Community Service Board, served on Rape Response Inc.'s Citizen's Advisory Panel and was a member of the Gainesville College Foundation Board of Trustees.
Darragh, LeeDistrict Attorney
Lee Darragh was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to the Office of District Attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit – Hall County and Dawson County – and took office on August 31, 2005. The voters of the Circuit elected him to a full term in 2006. Darragh has been a felony prosecutor for over 26 years, over 20 of which have been in this Circuit. Prior to becoming District Attorney (DA), Darragh served as Chief Assistant DA for Former DAs Jason Deal and C. Andrew Fuller, and as an Assistant DA for former DA Bruce Udolph. He also served as both Chief Assistant DA and Chief Trial Assistant DA for former DA Lydia Sartain.
Deal, Jason J.Superior Court Judge Judge Jason Deal has served as a Superior Court Judge for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit since June, 2005. He is the presiding judge of the Hall County Drug Court and the Dawson County Treatment Court. Previously Deal served as the District Attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, Magistrate Judge of the Hall County Magistrate Court, Assistant District Attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, County Attorney for Dawson County, and as an associate with the law firm of Thompson, Fox, Chandler, Homans, Hicks & McKennon. Deal received his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law and his Bachelors of Science degree from Furman University. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army. Deal was raised in Hall County and graduated from North Hall High School. Judge Deal is the former chairman of the Edmonson Telford Center for Children. He is also active with the Council of Superior Court Judges serving on several committees. Deal is married to Denise Fallin Deal and they have three children. They live in northern Hall County and attend First Baptist Church.
 Echols,
KeithTax Commissioner Keith Echols has been a lifelong resident of Hall County. He was born in 1948 in the small community of Belton, which later became part of what is known as Lula, Georgia. In 1970, he graduated from Gainesville College with an Associates degree in Business Administration and returned in 1978 to earn an additional degree in Accounting Technology. After graduating in 1980, he started Echols Book Keeping and Tax Service and continued in this capacity until being elected to office in January 2000. During this time, he performed many different accounting functions with various departments of Hall County Government. This wide range of experience, combined with an extensive knowledge of Federal and State Income Tax laws, makes him well qualified to perform the duties of Tax Commissioner.
Forrester, ReggieCourt Administrator
Reggie Forrester is Court Administrator for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit serving Hall and Dawson Counties. From January to March ’06, he worked as interim Operations Manager for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit before his appointment as Court Administrator.
Fuller, C. AndrewChief Superior Court Judge Judge C. Andrew Fuller is a native of Hall County. He was born on June 8, 1954. He is married to Gay and has two daughters, Carolyn and Michelle. He and his family attend the First United Methodist Church of Gainesville. After receiving a Bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia, he received his Juris Doctor in June 1980 from Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He has been a Superior Court Judge for the Northeastern Judicial since July of 1993. He is currently presiding as the Chief Judge for the circuit. From January 1987 to July 1993 he served as the District Attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, then serving Hall, Dawson, White and Lumpkin counties. From January 1982 to December 1986 he was in private practice in Gainesville, Georgia. Judge Fuller is a member of the Council of Superior Court Judges Association where he chairs the Council's Indigent Defense Committee. He is a member of the Georgia Supreme Court's Commission on Indigent Defense, the Advisory Board of the Georgia Indigent Defense Council; Gainesville Rotary Club; Hall County Chamber of Commerce; Member of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit Bar Association; Former member of the Board of Directors of Gainesville-Hall County Girl's Club; Former member of Gainesville Park and Recreation Board; Former member of the Board of Directors of the District Attorney's Association of Georgia.
Gosselin, Kathlene F.Superior Court Judge Judge Kathlene F. Gosselin was born in Chicago, Illinois. She is married to Bill Galardi and they have four children between them. Judge Gosselin and her family attend Grace Episcopal Church, Gainesville, Georgia. In 1976 she graduated with high honors from Southern Illinois University. In 1980 she was awarded her Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Chicago Law School. The same year she was admitted into the Georgia Bar. From 1981 - 1986 she was a partner in the law firm of Fockele and Gosselin. Her area of concentration was in criminal, domestic and juvenile work. From 1987 - 1998 she was the State Court Judge of Hall County. She was elected in 1986 and re-elected without opposition in 1990 and 1994. In 1998 she became Judge of Superior Courts for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit and was unopposed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections. She has been a part of the following civic and professional activities: Gateway House, President from 1983 - 1985; Leadership Hall County; Board of Directors; League of Women Voters; Member of Rotary Club; Board of Directors for Gainesville Community Foundation; Task Force Leader in the Georgia Courts Futures Project; Member of Governor's Commission on Family Violence; Leadership Georgia Class of 1993; Chair of the Georgia Supreme Court Committee on Gender Equity; Member of Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Equality; Member of Georgia Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission; Former President of the Council of State Judges; current Secretary/Treasurer of the Council of Superior Court Judges (2008-2009) and advisory board of Good News Clinics.
 Jockell,
Brett Superintendent Hall County Building Maintenance Brett Jockell has been Superintendent and Director of Hall County Building Maintenance since 1997, and is responsible for the maintenance and repairs of Hall County facilities and plant systems. In 1987, he was employed by the City of Gainesville as Crew Chief of the Georgia Mountains Center where he led the GMC crews on various facility maintenance tasks as well as the day-to-day operation of the facility function. Brett was promoted to Operations Manager of the Georgia Mountains Center in 1992, where he was in charge of all aspects of facility maintenance, plant systems, and operations.
Jolliff, Cliff L.Juvenile Court Judge
Judge Jolliff is from St. Petersburg Florida, and has lived in Gainesville since 1980. He received his law degree from Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University in 1978. He received a BA with honors in Philosophy from the University of Florida in 1975. He attended Oxford College of Emory University and obtained an A. A. degree in 1973.
David Kimbrell was appointed Chief for Hall County Fire & Emergency Services in April 2005, and also serves as Emergency Management Director. Since David joined Hall County in 1991 he has served as Fire Inspector (1991), Fire Marshall (1996), HCFS Administration Division Chief (2002), and Interim Fire Chief (2004).
Knighton, Randy, AICPPlanning Director
Randy earned his Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida, and his Master of Divinity from Emory University. He previously worked for the Orange County Planning Department (Orlando, Florida), the City of Orlando Planning Department (Orlando, Florida), and the Osceola County Planning Department (Kissimmee, Florida), as well as Hall County Senior Planner for 4 years before accepting his current position. Randy is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and the American Planning Association (APA).
Morris, BradLead Council Public Defender's Office Circuit Public Defender H. Bradford Morris, Jr. received his B.A. from Emory University in 1968. After serving as an officer in the United States Army, Morris received his J.D. from the University of Houston. He has practiced law for 28 years, with a concentration in criminal defense.
Niles, AveryWarden, Correctional Institute C.I. Warden Avery Niles, who previously served as Commander at the Hall County Detention Center, is a 21-year veteran officer of HCSO. In 1986 he began his career as a patrolman and worked his way through the ranks, serving as a Sergeant in Juvenile Investigations, Lieutenant in Patrol, Lieutenant in Work-Release-House Arrest and Lieutenant in the Detention Center before becoming its Commander. Warden Niles’ extensive community involvement has included serving as church deacon, Gainesville Foundation Board Trustee, member of the Board of Directors for the Gainesville Boys & Girls Clubs as well as Hall County United Way. He served as President of the Hall County Men’s Progressive Club and the Hall County Fraternal Order of Police, and has been an active member of many other organizations including the Hall County Civic Association, Rape Response, American Red Cross and the March of Dimes. He also serves on the Board of the Northeast Georgia Police Academy and the Georgia Jail Association. Warden Niles is a graduate of Gainesville High School, the Georgia Police Academy, the FBI National Academy, the National Association of Child Abuse Investigation and the Internal Affairs Investigator Association. In addition, he is currently pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Mortuary Science. Warden Niles and his wife, Charlene, have one child, Brittani.
Nix, CharleyCounty Administrator Mr. Nix was appointed County Administrator in November 2008 following a short term as Interim County Administrator. Mr. Nix came to Hall County as Director of Human Resources in August 2006. He has more than 25 years of senior level management and consulting experience within the private sector. Most of his career was spent working within fortune 200 firms for both Hall County based and Atlanta based organizations. As County Administrator, Mr. Nix is responsible for directly overseeing the management of all Departments reporting to the County Commission and directing the delivery of services to the citizens of Hall County. His role is also to assist the County Commission with coordination of activities between other elected officials, such as Superior Court judges, the Sheriff, and other constitutionally-elected officers. He is also responsible for interacting with agencies at the regional, state and federal levels as well as local governments within and outside Hall County. Mr. Nix has volunteered his time in various leadership positions for a number of community and state based governmental, professional and charitable organizations including Northeast Georgia History Center, United Way, Relay for Life, and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He is past state-wide Chairperson for the State of Georgia’s Department of Labor Employer Committee, Past Chairperson for the Gwinnett County Department of Labor Employer Committee, and a past member of the Governor’s Employment and Training Council. He is a native of Hall County and attended Hall County and Gainesville public schools (1970 graduate of Gainesville High School). He is a 1978 graduate of North Georgia College and State University with a BS Degree. Mr. Nix honorably served in the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1973, and is a member of First Baptist Church in Gainesville. He and his wife, Lana, have two daughters and a son-in-law who are also Gainesville High School graduates. Mr. Nix enjoys golfing, music, and boating on Lake Lanier.
Nix, MartyDirector, Central Communications/9-1-1 Marty Nix graduated from North Georgia College with a degree in Criminal Justice and obtained a masters degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University. He also holds a degree from the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College. Nix has been employed with Hall County since 1984, working in the Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's Office and, most recently, as Deputy Warden at Hall County Correctional Institution. Nix is a strong advocate for victims of crime, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Rape Response. A native of Hall County who grew up in the Clermont
area, Nix and his wife of 17 years have two children.
Oliver, Bonnie C. Superior Court Judge
Judge Bonnie C. Oliver is a 1974 graduate of Buford High School and attended Shorter College in Rome, Georgia on an academic scholarship and graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, cum laude in history. Judge Oliver obtained her legal education at the Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, where she received a Juris Doctor in 1981 and was admitted to the Bar the same year.
Rearden, Kenneth M.Director, Public Works and Utilities Ken Rearden became Director of Public Works and Utilities for Hall County in March 2008. The department has some 200 employees with an operating budget of more than $17 million and oversees the County’s capital budget. Prior to joining Hall County, Mr. Rearden worked with the City of West Palm Beach for 15 years as Utilities Engineering Manager, Assistant Director, Public Utilities Director and most recently Assistant City Administrator. During his tenure, he managed operating budgets of more than $65 million and capital projects ranging from $40,000 to $150 million. With more than 33 years’ experience in the water and wastewater field, he has held positions as manager of the water and wastewater division of a medium-sized consulting firm in south Florida, design/build manager for an international construction firm based in Alabama and superintendent of water and wastewater construction projects throughout the southeast. Mr. Rearden holds a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering degree from Southern Technical Institute in Marietta, but bleeds Blue and Orange from two years at Auburn. He is married with three grown children and one grandson, and resides in White County with his wife Farilyn, a black lab and two cats.
Rector, SusanDirector, Business License Susan Rector, Director for Hall County Business License Department, joined Hall County government in 1996 as Business License Clerk. Previously, Ms. Rector worked for Adams Transfer and Storage for 7 years, in charge of accounts payable/receivable, office management and other company functions. Ms. Rector, after nine years in the department, is very familiar with daily operations, county code requirements for business licensing, beverage licensing, fee collections for beverage distributors and other aspects of the department. Susan has one daughter, Angie Arendt and 3 grandchildren, Jackson, Carter & Madison.
Sosebee-Hunter, CharlotteInterim Elections Director
Charlotte Sosebee-Hunter has served as a Deputy Clerk to Elections since 1989. On December 29, 2006, she was sworn in as Interim Chief Registrar.
 Sutton,
PhilAssistant County Administrator Phil Sutton serves as Assistant County Administrator for Hall County government, providing administrative-management and project-management support to the county administrator and county commission. Prior to his current position, he was employed from 1996 to 2000 as assistant city/county manager of Athens-Clarke County government and, from 1990 to 1996, as director of Gainesville-Hall County Human Resources Department. Before entering government service, Mr. Sutton worked for the William Wrigley Jr. Company for 11 years in Personnel Management, New Products and Corporate Development. Mr. Sutton has been teaching Human Resources Management at the Carl Vinson Institute of the University of Georgia since 1996. He earned a BA in Psychology at the University of St. Thomas. Phil and his wife, Beth, and their two children, John and Meg, live in Flowery Branch.
Thomas, James Director, Management Information Systems (MIS) James Thomas was appointed Director of Management Information Systems (MIS) in April 2004 following a position as Systems Administrator in the Finance Department. James has been with Hall County for 14 years and has 22 years of data-system programming and processing experience. He has successfully implemented many new technologies for various county departments including Finance, H.R., Elections, Judicial and Public Safety. He is trained and certified in installation, management and analysis of Windows, Access, UNIX, Oracle and other data-based systems. Thomas served in the U.S. Air Force as a Communication Specialist prior to earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Lander College in 1982.
Thompson, Michaela Director, Financial Services Michaela Thompson joined Hall County government in 2003 as Capital Projects Analyst in the Finance Department. Previously, Ms. Thompson worked for 18 years for SI Corporation, a leading producer of polypropylene fabrics and fibers. With SI Corporation, she held various positions including Financial Analyst, Operations Controller, and MIS Manager. Ms. Thompson, a Certified Public Accountant, holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Kennesaw State University. She is married to Barry Strauss and mother to daughter Cody.
Walker, GregDirector, Parks & Leisure
Mr. Walker comes to Hall County with considerable Parks and Recreation experience within the state of Georgia. During his career, he has served nearly 20 years as Director of Parks & Recreation for 3 Georgia Counties: Wayne County (Jesup, Ga.), Ware County (Waycross, Ga.) and since 2004, Pickens County (Jasper Ga.).
Wood, Dwight S.Superior and State Court Clerk Dwight S. Wood was first employed in the Superior and State Court Clerk’s Office in 1975. Dwight was first elected in 1984. From 1989–1992 he served as Chairman of the Legislative Committee for the Superior Court Clerks’ Association of Georgia. He served as President of the Superior Court Clerks Association in 1992-93. In 1995 Dwight served as President of the County Officers’ Association of Georgia and in 1997 he served as President of the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia. Most recently, Dwight received the Superior Court Clerk of the year Award for 2000 and the County Officer of the Year Award for 2001. He served as Chairman of the Superior Court Clerks’ Training Council in 2000 and 2001. And most recently Dwight served a 3 year term on the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education Board of Governors, as the Superior Court Clerks' representative 2004-2007. Dwight was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to serve on the Board of the Georgia Superior Court Clerk's Cooperative Authority for the term: September 2005-July 2008. Dwight is currently earning a degree as a certified court executive through the Institute for Court Management’s Court Executive Development Program. He has completed courses in “Collecting Fines and Fees in Traffic Cases” (1994), “Court Records and Case Management” (1994), “Managing Human Resources” (1995), “The Internet and the Courts” (1997), “Trial Court Performance Standards” (1998) and “Fundamental Issues of Case Management” (1998). Dwight was born in Gainesville, Georgia on December 25, 1951 in the “Hall County Hospital” and has three grown children: a son and two daughters that were raised here in Hall County.
Wright, WilliamEmergency Management Coordinator
William Wright began his career as the Emergency Management Coordinator for Hall County in September 2005. He has over 20 years experience in emergency services and during the past five years has been the Emergency Management and 9-1-1 Director for White County.
Wynne, CharlesState Court Judge Under Development.
Young, NikkiPublic Information Officer Nikki Young joined Hall County government in 2008 as Public Information Officer. She provides information to members of the media and educates Hall County residents about their government through TV18 and the county website. Ms. Young has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia. She is a former newspaper reporter covering Hall County government and founding editor of The Paper of Braselton, Chateau Elan and Hoschton. Ms. Young and her husband, Eric, live in Bethlehem.
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Baldwin, Larry A.
Carden, Mary R.
Kimbrell, David
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