Citing a need to spend more time with family, Bryan County Tax Commissioner Debbie Newman is calling it a career.
Newman, who worked in the Bryan County tax office for more than 36 years - first as a clerk under former tax commissioner Blondean Newman, then as tax commissioner for 17 years - said Thursday she won't seek re-election.
Her term expires in January. She said the decision to retire wasn't an easy one.
"There's been a lot of soul searching," said Newman, who is married to Bryan County Public Works Director Derrell Newman. "But at the end, I just got to thinking, ‘life is just so short, I want to enjoy a little bit of it and spend time with my family while I've still got some life in me.'"
Newman is 59. She said her husband also plans to retire at the end of the year and they hope to travel, garden and spend more time doing things together and with family.
‘I've got mixed feelings," she said. "Any time you give this many years to something, you don't walk away from it lightly. But I'm happy with my decision. I'm very scared, too, because I'm going to go through a drastic change in lifestyle, but I look forward to it."
Read the entire story in Saturday's Bryan County News