Our Board

My name is Ronald T. Harris, I am a retired pharmacist, having worked as a pharmacist 45 years. During this time I have worked and operated three pharmacies in Winterville, Athens and Maysville, Georgia. I worked as the pharmacist here in Winterville for 37 years.

I am the sixth generation of my family to live in Winterville, my family having settled here in 1796. I am fourth generation to the live in my home in Winterville, which was built in 1895.

I graduated from Winterville Elementary School and then Athens High School in 1963. I graduated from the University of Georgia in 1967, being the fourth generation to graduate from there.

My great grandfather served as chairman of the Clarke County Board of Education for 35 years. My grandfather was Superintendent of the Clarke County Schools for 27 years and my mother taught school in Clarke County for 30 years.

My family has been closely associated with the schools in Winterville and Clarke County and has seen what a valuable asset the Winterville Auditorium has been to the community all the years.

The possibility of obtaining a grant for restoring the auditorium to usefulness again would be quite a benefit to Winterville and the greater Athens Community.

I am proud of the heritage of this community and have been privileged to serve as the President of the Winterville Heritage Foundation since 2002.

I was born and raised in Winterville. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (Acccounting) and a Master’s Degree in Business Education from the University of Georgia. I am a decorated Vietnam veteran and was discharged from the Army Reserve with the rank of Captain. In 2010, I was the recipient of the Veteran’s Day Award for Distinguished Service and am a member of the American Legion. I have over 40 years of business experience in Clarke County as owner and operator of Hodges Bar-B-Q Catering and Hodges Lawn Service. I served on the Winterville City Council from 2011 to 2016 and am a Board Member and Treasurer of the Winterville Heritage Foundation and Winterville Cemetery Perpetual Care, Inc. I was also a former Board Member and Treasurer of the Marigold Festival (4+ years), former Trustee and current Treasurer of the Winterville United Methodist Church, and former President of the Winterville Lion’s Club.

I joined the City of Winterville as its City Clerk in July of 2007. I received my Municipal Clerk Certification from the University of Georgia in February of 2012 and received a Certified Local Government Finance Officer Certificate and a Master Municipal Clerk Certification in 2014.

While working for the City, I have held numerous positions, including Secretary to the Winterville Historical School Buildings Restoration Committee from 2010 to 2011. Presently, I serve as Secretary for the Winterville Planning & Zoning Commission and the Winterville Cemetery Association, and am both Secretary and Treasurer for the Friends of Watson Mill Bridge State Park Group, Municipal Court Clerk, and Secretary for the Winterville Heritage Foundation.

At a young age, I moved from Jackson, Mississippi to Athens. After moving to Oglethorpe County in 1978, I graduated from Oglethorpe County High School in 1981. In my spare time, this avid horsewoman enjoys trail riding, working with kids and horses, motorcycling, shooting, and enjoying the outdoors. I raise longhorn and crossbred cattle with my husband, Bobby Bond, on our farm in Canon, Georgia.

I was appointed to the Winterville Heritage Foundation in 2016. I currently serve as the City Engineer and Chairman of the Winterville Planning and Zoning Commission. I also serve on the Winterville Cemetery Perpetual Care Board. I have been a member of the Winterville United Methodist Church having served the Church in every leadership role over the last 37 years.

I was educated in the Winterville Elementary School from first through seventh grades, attended Athens High School from 1956 through 1961 graduation, and received an Associate Degree in Civil Engineering Technology from Southern Technology Institute in 1965 and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Tennessee Technology University in 1971.

I served in the US Army as a First Lieutenant starting in 1966 with an Honorable Discharge in1969.

I currently live in the house I was born and raised in here in Winterville and have lived in this house for approximately 60 years.

I remember my mother coming home crying on opening night when the auditorium burned. She said that the principal had gone into the building and was able to save a portion of the curtains on the stage. After the fire, the community quickly started rebuilding the auditorium, and even though I was about 10 years old, I chipped the mortar off of the bricks from the burned building to be reused in rebuilding it. I received three cents for each brick that I cleaned. After rebuilding, the auditorium was used regularly for school plays, assemblies and community functions until the schools were consolidated in 1956. The City of Winterville leased the building from the Clarke County School District for a number of years starting somewhere in the 1970’s (I believe) until the building became unusable because of the necessary repairs. The School District was unable to make the repairs, and the City was unwilling to make repairs on a facility not owned by the City. The City was able to acquire the building from the School District somewhere around 2005 and was able to stabilize the building and prevent further decline.