Richmond Hill City Manager Chris Lovell and city council members John Fesperman Jr., Johnny A. Murphy and Russ Carpenter were all recognized by the Georgia Municipal Association at the GMA Mayors’ Day Awards Luncheon Sunday.

Fesperman, Lovell and Murphy were each awarded a certificate of recognition, which requires 42 hours of training in topics such as economic development, emergency management, ethics, municipal finance and law, and public policy development and implementation. Carpenter received a certificate of achievement, for which he completed 72 hours of training.

GMA and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government provide this required training to Georgia’s municipal officials as an opportunity for mayors and council members to increase their knowledge and understanding of city government, especially as it relates to the role and responsibility of the elected official. The training provides information designed to increase the awareness of the legal, financial and ethical responsibilities of city officials.

"This is an outstanding achievement," Richmond Hill Mayor Harold Fowler said. "We commend all of these city leaders for this accomplishment and for the dedication they’ve shown to become more effective."