Julian Brown '09 is new JDA executive director
A Grady County native is returning to his roots to help foster development and new economic opportunties for his fellow citizens.
During a called meeting of the Grady County Joint Development Authority Friday, the authority voted unanimously to employ Julian L. Brown as the new JDA exec- utive director.
Brown will assume his new role on March 5 and he has been offered a three- year contract. On a motion by authority member Charles Davis and a second by authority member Dr. Eugene Maddox, the au- thority voted 4-0 to author- ize JDA Chairman Charles
M. Stafford to ink the three- year deal. In addition to Davis and Maddox, Chair- man Stafford and Vice Chairman Robbie Burns voted in support of Brown's hiring. Authority members Drew Pyrz, Charlie Goar and Whigham Mayor George Trulock were absent.
"We are very excited to have someone with Julian'sexperience as our new exec-utive director. He will trulybe an asset to our author-ity," Chairman Stafford said.Brown,who was unable to attend Friday's meeting,
told The Messenger, "I am very excited to take on this new role and work to improve Grady County. I grew up in Cairo and I am a member of my family's eighth generation to grow up in Grady County."
The new JDA executive director is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Lumis Brown and the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Brown, all of Cairo.
"My education back- ground and work experi- ence makes me a strong fit for this position. I studied Geography at the University of Georgia where I focused on land forms, specifically looking at the quality of land in regards to development. Understanding soil quali- ties, topography, and location are extremely important when deciding where to develop," Brown said.
In addition, after earning his bachelor’s degree from UGA in May 2103, Brown, a 2009 graduate of Brookwood School, continued his education by attending graduate school at the Uni- versity of West Georgia, where in May 2015 he earned a Masters of Public Administration degree.
"It was in graduate school where I focused on public budgeting, public personnel, and public policy Browsaid. During his time in Carrollton he worked at the Trinka Davis Veteran's Village and served as a teaching assistant at the University of West Georgia. "Focusing on the administrative roles in rural areas during graduate school prepared me to take on this position.Since the spring of 2015, he has been employed by Teramore Development LLC in Thomasville. According to Brown, Teramore Devel- opment is the preferred de- veloper for Dollar General and Brown's primary role with the firm was land ac- quisitions.
"It is vital in retail development to pay close attention to location. If out positioned by a competitor, the store could have low sales, bringing down profits and eventually see the store closed. At Teramore I was also hands on with putting together REC Packages to sell Dollar General on the specific site. Just because Icontract a site does notmean Dollar General is goingto want to build there. Ourteam would spend weeksperforming site analysis onthe property and putting to-gether a package that wouldconvince Dollar General thatit is the correct site. I have worked at Teramore for overtwo years. In that time, we built approximately 100 Dol-lar Generals as well as a Pub-lix in Moultrie," Brown said.He holds certifications infundamentals and advanced fundamentals from the Georgia Soil and Water Con- servation Commission. The new JDA executive director says his first order of business will be to quickly get up to speed on current and pending JDA projects.
"The authority members have been a big help guiding me with what their expectations are and how I can grow in this role. I believe it is going to be extremely impor- tant to listen to anyone who may have ideas that will ben- efit the county. Talking with business owners and getting outside of the county to meet people who may have great ideas that can help," Brown said.
He added, "I am very excited to move back to Cairo and work for Grady County.This is a great opportunityfor me and I am ready to getthings moving. My heart hasalways been in Grady County and I could not be happier to work for the peo-ple in this great community."Based on the contract ap-proved last week, Brown will be paid a base starting salary of $60,000 plus benefits. Brown replaces Chadd Mathis who resigned as the JDA executive director last March, after a six year stint at the JDA.
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.