The Bryan County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday made its pick for the county administrator position during a regularly scheduled meeting held at the County Administrative Complex in South Bryan.
After accepting current County Administrator Phil Jones' resignation, which will be effective Dec. 31, the board unanimously appointed Ray Pittman of Bryan County to take Jones' place.
“I was a little nervous and excited,” Pittman said after he learned of the board’s decision. “It’s going to be very nice to work in the community where I live — because as you know Bryan County is a gorgeous place.”
While he said he has no “preconceived notions” about his new position, he does look forward to working with the county.
“What I do hope to achieve and do is make everybody’s lives in Bryan County better as a whole,” Pittman said. “It’s like a service — I’ll be required to give services to the residents of the county and to the commissioners. I’ll have a million bosses, but that’ll be OK. I’m really excited.”
Commission Chairman Jimmy Burnsed said he believes the board’s selection is a good fit for Bryan County.
“I think Ray will do a fantastic job,” he said. “I think it’s a real plus that he is local and that he has lived in Richmond Hill since 1986. He just has a very good concept of what is going on in the community and I think that is very, very critical at this point in the game to have someone of his talent and caliber in that very important position of county administrator.”
Burnsed said details of Pittman’s contract are still being negotiated, including salary and start date. He believes Pittman should begin either by mid-November or the first of December.
Jones, a Bryan County native and retired Army officer, began his career with the county in 1991 and moved into the administrator position a year or two later. He said he took a hiatus “somewhere in the middle” to work for the state but has held Bryan’s top post for nearly two decades.
“I’ll be calling Phil a lot — I’ve got big shoes to fill,” Pittman said, adding Jones has worked very hard for the county during his tenure. “I’ll definitely use him as a resource.”

Read more in the Oct. 13 edition of the News.