It doesn't happen very often, if ever, but a former resident of Colquitt and her husband were chosen in the seventh Class of 40-under-40 achievers.
In the March 2006 issue of the Business Report & Journal, of Savannah, The Lowcountry, Coastal Empire, Brunswick and the Golden Isles edition, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Glisson of Savannah were both chosen in the seventh annual 40 Business Leaders Under 40 edition.
According to the Business Report & Journal, this annual roster of the best and the brightest among the youngest business leaders is one of the most eagerly anticipated editions.
That edition introduced an array of engineers, lawyers, health-care administrators, real estate professionals, standout salespeople, hospitality industry leaders and many more.
Two of these up and coming stars of their professions were Julianne Grow Glisson, 35, formerly of Colquitt and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.E. "Sonny" Grow of Colquitt.
Julianne was first in a political career for several years as an advance person for Vice President Al Gore. In her second career, she and her partners launched the law firm of Darden, Glisson & Maillet. Jill started the new law firm after being named partner in her former law firm after just a year and-a-half. She is a graduate of the Mercer University School of Law.
She has been very successful in almost everything she does.
Robert Glisson, Julianne's husband, has also been selected to this elite group of young business people. Robert is also a Mercer University graduate and is an environmental engineer with WPC Engineering. He manages a staff of nine. In 2004, Glisson launched Royal Restrooms and has since established franchises in Atlanta and Jacksonville and serves the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. The upscale portable restrooms are in great demand for parties, weddings and other outdoor events, he stated.
Along with his engineering job and ownership in Royal Restrooms, Glisson finds time to serve as secretary of the Costal Motel Development Company, a local company that owns the Sea Breeze Hotel on Tybee Island.
In addition to the busy schedules of Robert and Julianne, they are the parents of one two-year-old daughter, Annabelle. They are also expecting a son in June.
Congratulations are extended to the Glissons for this well deserved honor as one of the 40 under 40 Achievers.

Georgia State Patrol Post 14 was awarded GSP Post of the Year by the Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD). This event was also sponsored by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Council. The post was commended for its reduction in alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 2005. The post reduced alcohol-related fatalities from 8 to 1 from the previous year. The overall fatality count was down 17 from the previous year as the post finished with only 5 traffic fatalities in 2005 for the entire four county region of Miller, Seminole, Decatur and Early counties that Post 14 covers.
SFC Johnson commends all of the troopers at his post for their hard work and dedication to the DUI problem.
TFC’s Walt Landrum was presented a silver pin recognizing his work in making 50 or more DUI arrests in 2005. TFC Kyle Duke was presented a bronze pin for making 25 or more DUI arrests. These honors were made by the MADD organization.
Both of the Troopers combined arrested 102 DUI Drivers in 2005. This is an outstanding accomplishment in this rural area. SFC Johnson stated that DUI Drug detection by both of these officers played a major role in the success of reduction in fatalities. “It takes a keen eye and sense of smell, along with sharp observation skills to detect drug impaired drivers. Both of these officers possess those skills.”
The MADD Post of the Year award went to state troopers including: Post Commander J.C. “Buddy Johnson, Sgt. Marc Godby, Senior Trooper James Miller, TFC Kyle Duke, TFC Walt Landrum, TFC Jeromy Roberts, TFC Earl Prince, Cpl. Torrance Laney, TFC Charles Hall, TFC Derek Johnson and TFC Phillip Ponder.
The Post 14 officers were presented to those who attended the MADD banquet in Macon on Friday, March 31.
Executive director of MADD, LaTresse Snead, stated that the award is given to GSP posts that support MADD’s mission to stop drunk driving, provide support to victims of drunk driving and prevent underage drinking.
Post 14 and the GSP troopers are to be congratulated on saving lives and this honor.

If you missed the Miller County Hospital Senior Breakfast last week, you missed a lot of information about what is going on in Colquitt and with the Colquitt/Miller County Chamber of Commerce.
Dot Wainright, public relations officer for the Miller County Hospital, welcomed the crowd.
CEO Harley Smith updated everyone on what's going on at the hospital and what is being planned for the future. He apologized for construction to the front of the building where the 16 bed addition is now going up.
Mrs. Wainright then introduced Veryl G. Cockey, president of the Chamber of Commerce (COC), to tell about some of the plans coming up and what is happening at the COC.
Ms. Cockey reported on some of the many things the COC is responsible for such as economic development and tourism. She told how the chamber works with and supports the Colquitt/Miller Arts Council in its many endeavors to bring visitors to Colquitt with plays at Cotton Hall, Tarrer Inn and the many programs that educate and provide employment.
Ms. Cockey said Colquitt is designated an Entrepreneur Friendly City, making it good for new and old business to start and improve business in this area. She discussed the COC’s role in the Fall Feather Hunt that brings in new businesses to the area. It was reported that Miller County has been designated a Tier 1 County which will help with getting grants that have been hard to get.
Ms. Cockey expressed the need for new chamber members even though the membership is up almost 100 percent. She said she didn't want to take the next speaker’s thunder, but she needed to mention that the National Mayhaw Festival and Parade would be coming soon, and the great fireworks display in July was already being planned.
She thanked the Ruth T. Jinks Foundation for providing the beautiful new chamber building, saying, "It is an asset to the city and county to have a place such as this to operate from.”
Ms. Cockey then turned the program over to Colquitt City Manager Cory Thomas.
Thomas updated the crowd about the upcoming National Mayhaw Festival events. He announced the 100 mile bike ride to be held Saturday, April 1. "As for the Mayhaw Festival, it has the making of being the biggest and best in the 23 year history. We have 102 vendors coming with more to sign up. We are looking for 150 vendors, which will draw a large crowd," Thomas stated.
He said the festival would start on Friday morning on the courthouse square with a giant bake sale, a barbecue and lots of local entertainment. Swamp Gravy will perform that night.
On Saturday morning, the runners will start early with a 5K run at 8:30 a.m. The parade begins at 10:00 a.m. with the state champion Dixie Youth team from Colquitt as the grand marshals.
Thomas commented on the great entertainment being planned. "There will be three professional groups who will have two 45 minute shows each during the day at Spring Creek Park," he continued.
Thomas stressed that none of this happens without hundreds of volunteers. He urged everyone to help by volunteering to do any of the many jobs that must be done to make this National Mayhaw Festival a great success.

Week of April 2, 2006