July 2019

Don't Forget 

Holmes named new Cobb district attorney

Former Gov. Roy Barnes said his father, Bill, died in 2005, at almost 90 years of age.

Before Barnes got into law or ran for office, he was pitching in at the family store in Mableton alongside his dad. He said Bill Barnes only had a seventh-grade education, but taught him a lot about business and life.

"He had all of these sayings. It's hard just to pick one of them out. ... One of them was, 'The most important thing about making money is getting up out of bed every morning and going to the store and putting the key in the door and opening the door.' And it's a great rule for life. Another one that I always thought was great was, 'We trade with folks for a lifetime, just not today.' Which means treat everybody nice. And another one I loved was 'Always look after those boys that wore muddy boots. They fed us for many years.' The farmhands and the workers."

According to Barnes, one of the funniest things he recalled his father having said occurred when he was sore with someone at the store.

"We had all these cousins and family working at the store. I was loading the drink box, Coca-Cola box, and he walked up there, he said 'Give me a Coca-Cola,' and I gave him a Coca-Cola. He was mad at somebody. He said 'You know, everybody that works for you is going to steal a little bit.' Says 'They'll take a candy bar or a pack of cigarettes or maybe $10 out of the register.' He said 'That's the reason I like to hire family. At least when they steal from you it goes to one of your own,'" Barnes said with a laugh.

State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-east Cobb, came to politics from the world of medicine. Prior to running for office, she was an orthopedic surgeon and co-president of Resurgens Orthopaedics. There, she oversaw over 100 mostly male orthopedic surgeons.

Kirkpatrick said she may not have had the guts to stand up as a leader or to run for office if not for the encouragement she got from her father, David Kirkpatrick, a railroad worker who served in World War II and celebrated his 100th birthday this year.

"He always told me since I was a little girl that in America, hard work and determination will get you wherever you want to go. ... He said that from the time I was little, and in fact he specifically said, 'Just because you're a girl doesn't matter. If you work hard enough and don't give up, you can do whatever you want, even if you're a girl.' Back in the day, being a girl was not what it is now."

"He is someone who never gave up," she added. "He always has an optimistic attitude even though he's 100 and in a nursing home. He's really been a symbol for the whole family, not just for me."   

Another woman of science turned politician, Cobb County Commissioner Lisa Cupid was an engineer before she ran for office, but said she would not have achieved either of those goals without encouragement from her dad, Mark Smith.

"He always tried to teach us that we could do anything we put our minds to, to see no limit. ... I would never have been an engineer without my father," she said. "He really opened a lot of doors. He was an engineer, he'd take us to work at the manufacturing plant, and as you know, I followed in his footsteps and became a manufacturing engineer. My dad has had a profound impact on me."

She added that she initially made the decision to run after getting advice and encouragement from her dad and her husband Craig Cupid.

Marietta Councilwoman Cheryl Richardson said her dad, David Richardson taught her the value of hard work.

"Work hard for the things you want," she said. "No one will give anything to you for free."

Richardson said her dad enlisted into the military after high school in the 1950s and went to Officer Candidate School at a time when black men were not often accepted there, she said. He served until 1970, when he retired as a major.

Richardson followed in her dad's footsteps, serving in the Army herself for over 20 years.

"My father always just told us to work hard," Richardson said. "My brother's in town visiting, and I said to him, 'What was the most important lesson daddy gave us?' and he said the exact same thing."

For 30 years, Joe Jerkins has been the mayor of Austell. On Tuesday night, he celebrated his retirement in the historic Threadmill Complex he helped restore with a line of well-wishers so long that the ceremony started 10 minutes late.

Jerkins was first elected in 1989 and earned a reputation for being a hands-on mayor by riding on the backs of garbage trucks, directing traffic and aiding in the flood cleanup of 2009.

His worsening Parkinson's disease has prevented him from attending recent City Council meetings and led to his decision not to seek reelection.

Clemons said the mayor's retirement is effective June 30. Under regular circumstances, Jerkins would be up for reelection this November. But given the date he's retiring on; Clemons said the city's charter calls for Clemons to serve out the remainder of the year as acting mayor. First elected in 2013, Clemons has also announced he will be running this November to serve as mayor for the next four years.

Clemons read Jerkins' farewell speech to the audience.

"It has been a privilege to work alongside all the employees here at the city," Jerkins said in his statement. "We have been through some good and bad times together. That's why we're family. ... It has been an honor to serve you."

 

Happy Trails Don Johnson

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