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Now in her third year as Chairman, Elizabeth “BJ” Mathis began her service as Henry County District Two Commissioner in January of 2005.  After serving in various ministry positions for 14 years, and working with numerous faith-based agencies, she felt politics was simply another way to serve the people in the community.

Under her leadership, an Economic Development Plan has been completed for Henry County that will help guide economic development decisions for years to come.  Acknowledging the link between education and economic development, Chairman Mathis is now working to assist the school system in raising the graduation rate, encourage higher education, and make Henry County a Work-Ready Certified Community.

Henry County Commission Chairman Elizabeth ‘B.J.’ Mathis is one of the five elected officials selected to serve on the Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable Executive Committee for the proposed regional SPLOST program.  The Executive Committee will be responsible for creating a draft investment list of projects that is both fiscally constrained by the projected revenue of the ten-year sales tax and deliverable within that ten year time frame.  Her service on this committee will ensure Henry County and the entire south metro has a strong voice in the process.

With her strong focus on families and conservation, Chairman Mathis more than doubled the park land in District 2 while preserving an historic civil war battlefield that had been slated for a large development. Her desire to provide unique places for citizens to gather led one of District 2’s parks, North Mt. Carmel Park, to be ranked #5 among all parks in metro Atlanta by accessatlanta.com. In fact, the oversized playground surrounded by a kid-sized “highway” for bikes and trikes coupled with the only dog park in the County has made that park one of the most popular destinations for Henry County’s families.  She has also led the fight against gang involvement among Henry County’s youth.

For all these reasons and more, Chairman Mathis was one of 45 women from Clayton and Henry counties to receive Senator Gail Buckner’s Legacy of Leadership Award for their contributions to their communities.

She and her husband John, a retired police Lieutenant with the City of Atlanta, have been married 28 years and have three children and three grandchildren.

In this episode, BJ Mathis joins Inside the Winner’s Circle to talk about Henry County’s economic development, green initiatives & how it’s poised on the brink of greatness.