Bulloch County Commissioner jan Tankersley Sworn in as 2009-10 President of ACCG

Third-term Bulloch County Commissioner Jan Tankersley was sworn in as 2009 -10 President of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) by Secretary of State Karen Handel at the group’s Annual Meeting Awards Breakfast on April 28 at the Savannah Civic Center.

With this election by the ACCG membership, Tankersley will continue as President of the 95-year-old organization comprised of all 159 Georgia counties through next year’s annual meeting in April 2010. She first moved into the position in January 2009 to fill an unexpired term.

“The coming year will be a very exciting and challenging time to serve as the ACCG President, said Executive Director Jerry Griffin. “We will be working closely with county officials as they make difficult choices as a result of the economic downturn while at the same time encouraging them to prepare their communities for the future.”

Addressing some 400 county officials present at the association’s yearly awards breakfast at the Savannah Civic Center in Chatham County, Tankersley expressed thanks to her fellow county elected officials and said that as Georgia continues in the midst of the worst economic downturn seen in 70 years, she feels Georgia’s local governments are in a position to help communities weather the downturn.

“I believe it’s a time for government, especially local government, to step forward. Local government officials are most attuned to how our communities are being affected by the sluggish economy,” Tankersley said. “As Georgians, we know we’re all in this together.”

“The good news is, we may also be the most well-prepared to take on the necessary challenges,” Tankersley added. ”Our Association, ACCG, has been at the forefront among state associations of counties, putting programs and resources in place to help us succeed.”

In her Presidential address, Tankersley highlighted the ways in which ACCG has helped county governments effectively plan for growth, advance technologically, promote economic viability, embrace regional coalitions to provide emergency services and environmental facilities and meet new benchmarks in environmental stewardship.

Tankersley, elected to office in 2001, qualified for a third term on the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners in 2008 and ran unopposed as District 2-A commissioner for her home town, Brooklet. The Bulloch County native is a respected leader in her county with a distinguished record of public service that extends beyond the coastal region and has been a member of the ACCG Board of Managers since 2005.

In addition to her role as an elected official in Bulloch County, Tankersley has also assumed regional and state leadership roles. Currently she is serving on the Bulloch County Kiwanis Club Board of Directors and the Georgia Leadership Academy. She also was appointed to the Ogeechee Technical College Foundation Board and serves on the school’s scholarship board and fund-raising committee. In January 2009, she was appointed to serve on the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Council.
Tankersley also has served on several state government boards, including the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Region 12 Advisory Council and the Savannah and Ogeechee Basin Advisory Committee. In 2004, she was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to the State - Local Transportation Strategies Task Force, and she co-chaired the governor’s re-election campaign in Bulloch County and served on his 2006 Inaugural Committee in 2006.

Tankersley’s civic affiliations are numerous and include membership in the Statesboro Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce, for which she served on the Board of Directors and as chair of the Community Improvement Committee. She is also a charter member of the Republican Women of Bulloch County and an active Kiwanis Club member, chairing the club’s Blood Mobile Committee and serving as a member of its Program Committee.

In Bulloch County, Tankersley said she is most proud of recent expansions to the county’s fire protection services outside of the "five mile" fire protection district. Tankersley also has recently begun volunteering with a new project through the Kiwanis Club, a Bi-Lo Grocery grant award that will provide free evening meals for children attending the Statesboro Boys and Girls Club.

Within ACCG, she is a past vice chair and chair of the association’s Economic Development and Transportation Committee, the Emory Greene Award Committee and on other special committees within the association.

Tankersley is a graduate of the Certified Commissioners’ Training Program, the Certified Commissioners Advanced Program (CCAP) and the ACCG Academy for Leadership. She also is a graduate of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development and special training programs for zoning administrators.