Mayor John Gayle, City Manager Larry Hanson, and Teresa Bolden, City Clerk and President of the Georgia Municipal Clerks & Finance Officers Association (GMC/FOA) were recently elected and sworn in to serve on the Georgia Municipal Association Board of Directors.  The swearing in took place at the Annual Business Meeting held on June 23, 2014 at the 2014 GMA Annual Convention in Savannah, Georgia at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. 

Mayor Gayle and City Manager Hanson will serve as GMA Directors At-Large and City Clerk Bolden will serve as GMA Section President for 2014-2015. 

“This is truly a privilege for us to serve on this prestigious Board of Directors and to represent our city at the state level, while also having a positive impact on other Georgia municipalities,” said Mayor Gayle.  “Valdosta is honored to have three representatives serving on this board at the same time, which speaks highly about our city and our local government.”

Created in 1933, the GMA is the only state organization that represents municipal governments in Georgia.  Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its members.  The 63-member Board of Directors which governs GMA is composed of city officials from across the state.  GMA's membership currently totals 520 municipal governments, accounting for more than 99 percent of the state's municipal population.  Program implementation is charged to the Executive Director and staff of over 80 full-time employees.