This week’s Hometown Public Servant is County Administrator L. Guy Singletary with Emanuel County Board of Commissioners.
During a recent interview with Singletary, he revealed that he and his wife, Jodi, are both natives of Emanuel County. After attending the University of Georgia, the couple decided to move back home and marry, but had a couple of obstacles to overcome before making the transition back home.
“This was in 2008, and the country was in a recession. Jobs were limited at that time, so I took a job as a business manager for an agricultural company in the Athens area. It took a little time to get all the way back home, but we are thankful to have been back for the last five years. I love living in rural Georgia. It offers a quality of life that can’t be matched by the faster-paced parts of the state. My wife and I are also very family-oriented, and this is where our family is,” Singletary explained.
Singletary has served the role as county administrator for the past five years. Prior to that, he served the same role in Johnson County for seven years.
“I don’t know if anyone graduates from college and knows that they want to be a county administrator. The profession found me and I have loved it. While it can be difficult to manage the many different tasks and services that local governments provide, it is a very rewarding profession. Local government has an impact on the daily lives of citizens, and I enjoy being able to work to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Emanuel County,” Singletary commented.
Having a diverse job, the bulk of Singletary’s responsibilities consist of local budget processing and financials. However, he also manages to find the time to work with all departments within Emanuel County public safety and works to ensure that the county provides effective and efficient services. The level of diversity that makes the job challenging only intrigues Singletary even more. In the recent interview, he expressed his passion for finding resolutions to challenges while working with a great group of elected officials, department heads and staff who help carry the workload.
“It’s hard to give a full description of tasks performed on a daily basis because it varies greatly each day, but my biggest responsibilities include managing the county’s administrative offices, including finance, human resource, budgeting and planning. I also spend a lot of time with department heads and elected officials finding ways to improve what we do. We are always looking for ways to provide a better service for the same amount of money or less,” Singletary commented.
Requirements for Singletary’s position change regularly. For instance, what was required of Singletary to perform his job 12 years ago is much different that requirements faced today. With a constant shift of federal and state policy, along with continuous shift of local community needs, continued education is always required on Singletary’s behalf. Thus, he considers it vital to stay as current as possible so that every decision and action made stays in compliance with the law.
Singletary’s educational background includes a 2008 bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. After realizing his passion for local government, Singletary continued his education and graduated from Valdosta State in 2011 with a master’s in public administration.
Fun Fact: As a result of Singletary’s years in local government, education, and other contributing factors, he is one of only a few ICMA credentialed managers in the state of Georgia!
Singletary is proud of his many accomplishments throughout his career, but the one accomplishment he’s most proud of in the whole world is being a husband to his wife, Jodi, and a father to their three sons, Lyndon, Dessie and Emmitt.
In closing, Singletary would like to address the community by relaying the following message:
“Our county employees are great and hardworking people. They, too, are citizens of this community and want to see Emanuel County be the best it can be. They have families that they are trying to provide for and dreams that they hope to achieve. While they all care about their job, it is also a way for them to accomplish their goals. My hope is that the community sees our employees as their peers and not just another government employee.”
