The
Coweta
County
Board of
Education
voted
unanimously
to
appoint
Winston
Dowdell
to serve
as the
5th
district
representative
on the
Coweta
County
school
board,
at a
called
meeting
Friday
morning.
Dowdell
begins
his
service
immediately,
and will
serve
the
unexpired
term of
the late
Mitch
Powell,
Jr.
Dowdell
– a
38-year
educator
–
retired
from the
Coweta
County
School
System
at the
end of
2001,
after
serving
for
nearly
eight
years as
Associate
Superintendent.
“I am
very
honored
by the
school
board’s
decision.
I am
excited
about
this
opportunity
and look
forward
to
working
with the
Board,”
said
Dowdell.
“I’m
mindful
that
this
isn’t
about
me, but
it is
about
students,
parents,
teachers
and
staff,
and the
whole
community.
It’s
about
all of
us as
school
board
members
building
consensus
and
helping
move the
school
system
forward.”
“I am
looking
forward
to
representing
the
fifth
district,
in
particular,
and our
county
as a
whole,”
said
Dowdell.
“I’m not
replacing
Mitch
Powell,
because
you
can’t
replace
him, but
I am
honored
to
serve.”
Dowdell
was
appointed
by a
unanimous
vote of
the
Board
during a
called
meeting
at 8
a.m.
Friday,
January
12, at
the 237
Jackson
street
Board of
Education
building.
Board
Chairman
Frank
Farmer
opened
the
meeting
by
saying
that he
had
spoken
informally
to his
fellow
board
members,
and that
“several
names of
highly
qualified
nominees”
from
within
the 5th
school
board
district
had been
discussed
by Board
members.
Farmer
noted
that the
school
board’s
charter
required
the
board to
appoint
a
citizen
to
fulfill
vacancies
on the
board
and to
choose a
replacement
who
lives
within
the
school
board
district.
After
nominations
were
opened,
School
Board
Vice-Chairman
Brian
Roy
placed
Dowdell’s
name for
consideration.
“Over
the past
two
months I
have
spent
considerable
time
speaking
with
citizens
who live
within
that
district
and
discussing
the
strengths
those
candidates
would
offer,”
said
Roy.
“The
candidates
that
showed
interest
all
brought
a lot to
the
table
and it
is
honorable
that
they
wished
to step
forward
and
serve
our
community.”
Roy
cited
Dowdell’s
experience
as an
educator,
principal,
school
system
leader,
and a
community
leader
in
numerous
instances
as his
qualifications
for the
board
position.
With no
other
nominations
submitted
by Board
members,
Framer
closed
nominations
and the
board
elected
Dowdell
unanimously.
Winston
Dowdell
served
as
Associate
Superintendent
of the
Coweta
County
School
System
from
1994
until
his
retirement
in 2001,
after
having
served
as
Assistant
Superintendent
for
Special
Services
for five
years.
He had
previously
served
as
Principal
of
Eastside
Elementary
School
for four
years,
Principal
of
Fairmount
Elementary
School,
Assistant
Principal
of
Newnan
High
School
for over
three
years.
Dowdell
came to
Coweta
in 1968
with a
B.S.
Degree
from
Alabama
State
College
and four
years of
teaching
experience.
His
first
job was
as a
teacher
at
Grantville
Brown
School.
From
there he
transferred
to
Moreland
School
and on
to
Newnan
High in
1974. At
the
time, he
was
completing
an
advanced
degree
at West
Georgia
College
as well
as
certification
in
administration
and
supervision.
Dowdell
has also
been
active
in civic
affairs,
including
service
on the
Board of
Directors
of the
Bank of
Coweta
and
Peachtree
Regional
Hospital,
serving
as
steward
of the
Greater
Mt. Zion
Church
and a
member
of 100
Black
Men of
West
Georgia.
He has
also
been
board
chairman
for the
Chattahoochee-Flint
Area
Planning
and
Development
Commission,
board
member
of West
Georgia
College
- Newnan
Center,
loan
officer
of the
county
credit
union,
and
board
member
of the
Rutledge
Center.
He has
served
on the
Chamber
of
Commerce
board
and on
the
Coweta
Clean
and
Beautiful
Commission,
on the
County
Fire
Commission,
and as a
United
Way
trustee.
His
professional
memberships
include
the
Professional
Association
of
Georgia
Educators
and Phi
Delta
Kappa.
He is a
native
of
Opelika,
Alabama,
and his
wife,
Verneda,
is from
Auburn,
and also
taught
in the
Coweta
County
School
System
for 35
years,
retiring
in 1999.
They
have one
daughter,
Windy,
who is a
pharmacist
for
Kroger.
His
son-in-law
Sean is
an
Assistant
Principal
at
Smokey
Road
Middle
School.
Dowdell
has two
grandsons
– Kamran,
who is a
student
at Ruth
Hill
Elementary
School,
and
Karston,
who will
attend
next
year.
Winston
Dowdell
Academy
– the
former
Fairmount
Elementary
School -
was
named in
his
honor in
2002.
Winston
Dowdell,
right,
is
congratulated
by
Superintendent
Blake
Bass,
left,
after
being
notified
that the
Coweta
County
Board of
Education
had
appointed
him to
the
Board of
Education
Friday
morning.
Dowdell
– a
retired
educator
who
served
as the
Coweta
County
School
System’s
Associate
Superintendent
– was
appointed
by a
unanimous
vote of
the
Board to
fulfill
the
unexpired
term of
the late
Mitch
Powell,
Jr.
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