We did not want to just list the mayors and their dates of service, but wanted to include a short biography about them.

Joel Cowan served as the first mayor from 1959 to 1965.

He was born in 1936 in Cartersville and grew up there. He is a graduate of Georgia Tech in 1957 with a degree in Industrial Management.

An interesting note: In August 1959, he was recognized as being the youngest mayor of a Georgia town at the same time that his father, Charles A. Cowan Sr., was a mayor of Cartersville.

He and his wife, Geri, moved to Peachtree City in early spring of 1959 in a house built in 30 days atop Shakerag Hill. Any new town to be considered by the Georgia Legislature had to have a mayor and the mayor had to live in the town.

His biggest problem was getting actual, sure-enough, correct deeds for the various plots purchased from local residents. From the giant oak tree over to the pea patch was just not going to work anymore.

Finding the financing for the “new-town” project was not easy but he devised a plan, stuck to the plan, and made it work.

He and Geri are the parents of two boys and a girl, and are grandparents to five granddaughters.

He was chosen as the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce Businessperson of the Year in 1988.

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Ralph Jones and his wife, Brownie, had only lived in Peachtree City for four years when he was elected mayor. He served from 1966 to 1969.

Jones, 80, was born and raised in Franklinville, N.C. He is a graduate of North Carolina State with a degree in Civil Engineering.

It fell to him to really get things off the ground in regard to police, for instance. He had to pay a county sheriff for duty six nights a week until funds could be established to have a policeman hired by Peachtree City.

He also saw that a recreation department was put into place, and a Little League was begun. Most everything had to be done with borrowed money, which was not an easy task for a town only six years old.

He and Brownie have three children, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

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J. A. “Chip” Conner, 69, was born in Cobb County and raised in the city of Dalton. He is a graduate of Southern Tech with a degree in Civil Engineering. However, he spent most of his working career in managing real estate and real estate investment.

He and Katy arrived in Peachtree City in August 1960, and are the parents of five children and 11 grandchildren.

Chip has served his community by serving as a Fayette County commissioner from 1976 to 1980, was a charter member of the Peachtree City Rotary, a member of the Fayette County Kiwanis, served on the county water board and was a volunteer firefighter for Peachtree City. He has been a volunteer for the Piedmont Fayette Hospital Auxiliary for the past three years and is looking forward to serving them for many more years.

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The late Howard Morgan, who died in 2001 at the age of 89, was born in Urichsville, Ohio. He was graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in Industrial Engineering.

In 1942 he decided to marry a fellow Ohioan, Dolly, and they primarily lived and worked in the eastern side of Ohio.

When it came time to think about retirement, they spent four weeks each summer driving all over the United States trying to find a spot that suited them.

They drove through Peachtree City in 1969 and happened across the Rev. Don Smith of the First Presbyterian Church. He drove them around and they picked out a lot on the lake, for which they paid the grand sum of $8,000. While their house was being built they traveled around Europe and moved into their new home in December 1970.

They believed in being a real citizen of their community, and Howard served three terms as mayor, from 1972 to 1978 and two terms as a city councilman in the 1980s. He was also active in the Peachtree City Rotary.

The couple has two sons, each married to a Nancy.

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Serving as mayor from 1978 to 1981 was Herb Frady, the third native Georgian to serve. He had been a councilman prior to this.

He was born and raised in Canton, Ga., and is 78 years of age. After graduating from high school, he served four years in the United States Air Force.

While he enjoyed that experience, the Air Force had decided his eyes didn’t quite meet the specs needed to fly the nation’s airplanes.

But Herb wanted to fly, and along with working after military service, he took private flying lessons.

To date, he has flown over 12,000 hours in the past 43 years. Most of this has been for corporations.

He and wife, Shirley, moved to Peachtree City in March 1975. In October of that year, they purchased a restaurant that sat at the corner of Huddleston Road and Ga. Highway 54. They operated a restaurant in the city for 10 years.

Commenting on his term as mayor, he said that when he went into office pretty much all the city owned was pencils and paper. He served during a period of growth and when he left office the city could list a number of assets.

He began serving his first term as a Fayette County commissioner in 1993 and continues to serve in that capacity today.

He and his wife are the parents of four children, one of whom has since passed away, and have 10 grandchildren.

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The next man to serve, Frederick Brown Jr., served the longest to date, from 1982 to 1991.

He was born Oct. 26, 1921, in Birmingham, Ala., and grew up in that state. He attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now known as Auburn University, for a year, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

World War II and the Korean War found him in the United States Navy as a pilot. He then worked for the Federal Aviation Administration for 20 years in the Flight Standards Division, retired in 1978 with over 30 years with the federal government in both flight and supervisory positions.

He and his late wife, Nita, moved to Peachtree City in October 1973. Their offspring includes one daughter, one grandson, and three great-grandchildren.

Fred served as a Peachtree City councilman for three years and then 10 years as mayor. He has served 13 years as a member of the Fayette County Health Department, and the last three years as a charter member and chairman of the board of the American Heart Association of Fayette County.

He continues the efforts begun by the late Floy Farr and is co-organizer of the Southern Crescent Alzheimer’s Memory Walk as well as being involved with the Peachtree City Kiwanis Club.

As mayor, he said he tried to be his best to be available to the public and was at the office every workday. He said he was most fortunate to have outstanding council members and the best city manager, Jim Basinger, that could be found anywhere.

In honor of his many volunteer hours at the outdoor amphitheater, it was named in his honor and is affectionately known as “The Fred.”

He was chosen as the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce Businessperson of the Year in 1991.

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Robert Lenox was born July 20, 1944, at Fort Sill, Okla., raised in Cleveland, Ohio and arrived in Peachtree City in September 1982. He earned a BA with majors in finance and accounting at Baldwin-Wallace College located in Berea, a college town near Cleveland. He served as mayor from 1992 to 2001.

Bob Lenox and his wife, Debi, married just five months before moving here, founded Continuous Forms and Checks just a month after they arrived. It was a successful venture and was sold in 2007 to a big publicly traded printing company.

Bob says that his successful business career helped him as mayor. Probably 90 percent of what any governing body does is simply running a business in an economical and efficient manner. Citizens pay for services such as police, fire, recreation, roads, etc. and should expect them to be delivered in a timely, courteous and profession manner. The other 10 percent is determined by assessing the values that are most important to the majority. He said that what he could accomplish in his business in a month could take years in politics.

He is proud of creating an environment where everyone could contribute to the betterment of Peachtree City and is most grateful for those opportunities to work with some really intelligent, caring, honest, and hard-working people.

He feels that no place is perfect because each citizen has their own definition of what that means, but feels Peachtree City is way better than just about every place else and loves to call it home.

They are the parents of three children and grandparents to seven grandchildren.

He was chosen as the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce Businessperson of the Year in 1996.

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Stephen D. Brown served as mayor from 2002 to 2005.

He was born January 1964 in Atlanta, where he grew up. He is a graduate of the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia and has a degree in journalism management.

He states that he had the privilege of working with some men and women of strong character, whose example he has used to enhance his personal perspective on life.

He is one of the founding members of the Metro Atlanta Mayor’s Association and served as its first vice chairman in 2003. He was the Honorary Chairman for the 2003 Fayette County “Light the Night” Walk benefiting Leukemia and Lymphoma research.

His main focus as mayor was on land planning and zoning issues and advocated innovation and high standards as a way for communities to maintain their sense of place.

In 2002 he was chosen by Georgia Trend Magazine as a “Rising Star” in its 40 Under 40 selection of achievers in the arts, education, business and government.

Steve is married to Anne Marie, and they are the parents of two young girls. They came to Peachtree City in 1996.

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Harold K. Logsdon, and his wife, Ann, arrived in Peachtree City in 1995. He is the current mayor, having been elected in 2006.

He was born August 1945, in Springfield, Ky. He joined the National Guard during his senior year in high school and after graduation and served his six-month obligation in the United States Army. He then went to work for BellSouth where he held several technical assignments early in his career.

While still in the National Guard, he enrolled in Officer Candidate School and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1967. He remained in the National Guard for 38 years, retiring at the rank of colonel.

While working with BellSouth in Birmingham, Ala., he earned a B.S. degree from the University of Alabama, graduated from the United States Army War College and earned an M.S. degree in Management from Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I.

He finished his career with BellSouth with 36 years of service in May 2000. He worked briefly at NCR and then began his own management consulting company.

He is a member of the Kiwanis Club, Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion, and the Peachtree City Christian Church.

In his free time, he enjoys playing golf. He and Ann are the parents of two children.

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