Fall MEETING:

Ramada Plaza (formerly know as the Crown Plaza)Macon GA
When you call for reservations make sure you tell them you are
with the Georgia Coroners Association to get the discount rate
of $79.00 and don't forget your tax exempt forms.
Fall Meeting: September 17 & 18 2010
Where : Ramada Plaza, 108 First St. Macon, Ga.
Phone: 478-746-1461
Reservation Cut Off Date: Sept. 09, 2010
Check in after 03:00 pm

TRAINING SCHEDULE 2010:

CLASSES:

HERE ARE THE UPCOMING CLASSES FOR 2010
No walk in's are allowed

(Remember that you must go on line and register for these classes.)

The following are for basic:

July 19-23 Forsyth
Dec. 13-17 Forsyth
___________________________
The following are for regular in service:

Aug. 9-11 Albany
Aug. 18-20 Athens
Aug. 21-22 Forsyth
Nov. 3-5 Forsyth
Dec. 1-3 Forsyth
Dec. 8-10 Athens
___________________________
The following are for 2011 that have been set:
Feb. 9-11 Forsyth
Mar. 23-25 Savannah
Apr. 27-29 Forsyth
May 2-4 Rome
June 1-3 Forsyth

Please note: No one can register 90 days prior to a class.
You must register online at http://www.gpstc.org

Locations for Classes:
Albany: Wingate Inn, 2735 Dawson Rd. Albany, Ga. ph: 866-676-3088

Athens: GPSTC Regional Police Academy, 55 Beaverdam Rd. Athens,Ga. ph:706-369-6342

Rome : Holiday Inn Express, 35 Hobson Way Rome, Ga. ph:706-232-0021

Savannah: Inn at Ellis Square, 201 Bay St. Savannah, Ga. Ph:1-800-992-4023

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Don't Miss The Fall Meeting:
September 17&18

Ramada Inn, 108 First St. Macon, Ga. 31201
ph: 478-746-1461

Registration begins at 09:00am both days with programs starting @ 10:00am
Guest speakers will be visiting on the 17th and the Fall Meeting on the 18th.

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AWARDS 2009:

Leroy Simms Award was presented to the Hon. Ted Bearden of Dawson County
Harry Pippins Award was presented to Dep. Coroner Mark Hodges of Washington County
A.R. King Award was presented to the Hon. Sam Brown of Thomas County

2009-2010 Officers and Directors:

Officers for the 2009-2010 Georgia Coroners Association:

Hon. Vanita Hullander, President
Hon. Jake Futch, 1st Vice President
Hon. Grover Barfield, 2nd Vice President
Hon. Danny Galpin, Secretary
Hon. Gary McElhenney, Treasurer
Hon. Connie Kitchens- Jackson, Chaplain

Directors;

Hon. Mike Adams, District at Large
Hon. Earl Darby, District 1
Hon. Michelle Cleveland, District 2
Hon. Jeff Cook, District 3
Hon. Richard Stanley, District 4
Hon. Sam Brown, District 5

By-Laws Changes

The By-laws committee approved the following changes
to the Constitution & By-laws of the Georgia Coroners Association.

The nominating committee for the association officers and
executive board members will consist of five (5) members,
the three (3) most immediate past presidents of the association
and the current serving 1st Vice President and the At- Large
Exectuive Director. The most immediate past president will
serve as chairman of the committee. The required minimum
number of committee members present to conduct nominations
shall be three (3).

The By-laws committee approved these additional changes
to the Constitution & By-laws of the Georgia Coroners Association.

Constitution: Section 3: Sub Section E:

The secretary shall receive a total of $400.00
upon approval of the Executive Committee for his (or her)
services as secretary. $200.00 payable at the
semi-annual meeting and $200.00 payable at the
annual meeting of the Association.

Constitution: Section 4: Sub Section E:

He or she shall receive a total of $400.00 upon
approval of the Executive Board Committee for services
as Treasurer. $200.00 payable at the semi – annual meeting
and $200.00 payable at the annual meeting of the Association.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Gary McElhenney needs the following information:
Name__________________
County_______________________
How many years have you served as
Coroner________or Deputy Coroner_________?
He needs this information because we would
like to recognize years of service for the Coroner’s.
Every 4 years the Deputies get a pin for the years of service.
This is information that Gary needs to keep a record of every year.
You can e-mail Gary at putnamcoroner@netcommander.com
or fax the information to 706-485-0460.

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In Memory:

Joe F. Mason, Jr.

Joe F. Mason, Jr. -MILLEDGEVILLE -
Joe F. Mason, Jr. age 71 went home to be with the Lord on Monday February 4, 2008.
Services will be held at 11:00 am Thursday at Liberty Baptist Church
with Rev. Morris Wood officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
-Mr. Mason was born in Wilkinson County March 19, 1936, he was the son of
Joseph F. Mason, Sr. and Idell Whitaker Mason.Ê He was preceded in death by
two brothers Richard "Dick" Mason and Elton Durwood Mason. He was elected
Mayor of Irwinton in 1956 and was the owner of Dixieland Motel & Restaurant for
more than 30 years. He was the first county agent for Farm Bureau and was the
Wilkinson County Coroner for 31 consecutive years. He also held the position of
District Supervisor for the Central Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission
and was awarded Conservationist of the Year. He received his degree as a Master
Gardner in Organic Gardening. -His love for God and Nature was working in his 12 acre
organic natural garden everyday. He loved talking to people about the way he farmed
and always had a positive outlook and saw the best in everyone he met and loved all
his many garden buddies. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.

His family was the most important thing in his life. He always taught them the
value of love, honesty and forgiveness and to always do their best.Ê -He will be
greatly missed by his loving wife of 52 years, Jackie Justice Mason of McIntyre,
his loving children; Joe F. Mason, III (Lynn) and Denise Mason Brinson (Phil) all of Irwinton,
John Paul Mason (Celes) of Milledgeville, six grandchildren; Tania Mason Mitchell (Jonathan),
Joseph Mason, Tyler Brinson, John Cody Mason, John Logan Mason and Olivia Mason,
three brothers; John E. Mason (Dagma) and Larry Mason (Annette) all of Irwinton,
Harold Mason (Brenda) of Milledgeville, two sisters; Winifred Wood (Morris) of Gray and
Annie Rachael Loyd (Bo) of McIntyre.
-Memorial contribution may be made to the Georgia Cancer Specialist of Milledgeville.
-The family will receive friends Wednesday from 6:00 until 8:00 pm at
Moores Funeral Home. -Visit www.mooresfuneralhome.com to express tributes.

Published in The Telegraph on 2/6/2008.

Please note; Your Executive Committee has changed.
Congratulations to all Coroners and Deputy Coroners on
your new positions.

State Bill 450 Adopted:

The State Bill 450 Paragraph 12 has been adopted. This was the bill that
had the amendment attached raising the coroners fee to $175.00,
effective January 1 2007. A big thank you to Richad Stanley for all
his hard work and many phone calls. Thank you as well to, Vernon Le
and Charlie Watts for all their efforts on our behalf.

NOTICE:

All Georgia Coroners and Deputy Coroners are required to take the
Incident Command Support courses 100 and 700 by October 1, 2006.
The course information can be obtained through your local Emergency Management
Coordinator in your county. The courses can be taken on line.
You can also find the course information on the FEMA website or the
Georgia Emergency Management website

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

A New Rule:

A new rule regarding the Georgia Coroners Association has been
set by the Executive Committee. Effective immediately there will be a
charge of $150.00 for any Coroner attending off-site training who is not
a member of the GCA. This will be in addition to the normal fee paid to the
Training Council. For off-site training the Georgia Coroners Association pays
for the place to hold the training and for any hospitality.

NOTICES:

Coroner Profile For Life Link:
Please return your Life Link information form to your district director.
This will enable Life Link to develop a comprehensive database of preferences
for contacting each Coroner and Deputy Coroner.

Remember: Electronic Death Certificates Are Coming:

Electronic death cetificates are coming. The Georgia Department
of Vital Records is implementing death certificates online. They are
testing different areas now and want to roll out statewide by October
of this year. It will be interesting to see how long it will take to
get a certified death certificate. Vital Records will send someone to
Macon to preview this at our annual meeting. It should be very interesting.

TRAINING COURSE RULE CHANGES:

The following is an announcement from the
Georgia Coroners Training Council.
These are the rule changes from the training council
that went into effect January 1, 2006.

1. You cannot take the same training course more than once
in a year, and receive more than 24 hours credit.
RULE #112-2-047(1)

2.You must take the annual training provided by the Georgia
Police Academy for three years out of the four year term.
Outside training must be approved 45 days prior to the training
by the training council. A syllabus of the training shall be
forwarded to the council for review. RULE #112-2-04(5)

3. If the training council withdraws or suspends certification of a
Coroner or Deputy Coroner, the same shall have 15 calendar days
to request a hearing. A lack of response is viewed as accepting
the Council's decision. RULE #112-4-01 (2c)

4. Annual training shall consist of 24 hours of approved training
and must be in successive days.

From Vanita Hullander with reference
to the website

The website committee is still trying to build a memorial
page for the website. They need members to provide a list of
Coroners and Deputy Coroners that died while in office or Coroners
who received special recognition from their community or other
agencies.

Vanita Hullander has been elected Vice Chair of the
Georgia Fatality Review Panel. She would like to encourage
Coroners to participate on some of the committees and promote
an appreciation and understanding of the Coroners role in child
abuse and death investigation.

Purchase Coroners Association Items On This Site
Or Contact, Hon. Gary McElhenney. Treasurer

Child Deaths

If you have had any child deaths where a child was in a dangerous or
negligent situation and died, and the parents were not charged due to
a lack of intent or malice, please contact Hon. Vanita Hullander Coroner of Catoosa County.
Phone: 706-965-3541, 706-965-6800
E-Mail,ccoroner@catt.com
This information is needed to support passage of HB651, which is a bill
putting a child endangerment law into effect.
Currently Georgia is the ONLY state in the nation without this type of law.