Two candidates will vie for the vacant Pembroke City Council seat in a special election on June 16.
Pembroke residents Diane Moore and Tommy Strickland are running for the position left open after Tony Greeson resigned because he moved from Pembroke to a neighboring North Bryan community.
Moore said running for the seat wasn’t something she initially thought about, but after being contacted by friends saying she should run, she began considering the idea.
"I prayed about it a whole lot," she said Tuesday, "and decided to do it."
"I know the general issues and know the problems faced by City Council as a resident," she said. "I’m willing to work hard and learn everything I can to be the best city council person I can be."
Strickland noted he had a very worthy opponent in Moore."She’s popular and has done a lot for the area," he said Thursday.
Strickland, who said he’s knocked on 98 percent of the doors in the voting district to introduce himself and listen to issues, earned an associate degree from Marietta’s Southern Tech, which started him on a nearly 30 year career with the Georgia DOT as a project manager and district construction estimator.
Born in Statesboro and raised in the Pembroke area, Strickland was drafted into the Army in 1969 during the Vietnam War and served in Germany. More recently, he worked as part of Bryan County Code Enforcement for three-and-a-half years.
"I feel my experience with DOT over the years and county code enforcement, along with good old fashion common sense, rounds out someone who would make a good council person who listens and understands concerns," he said.
Strickland said he has received encouragement from his wife, three grown daughters and two grand children in running for the vacant council seat.
"I love a challenge," he said. "There’s a lot of learning, and a lot of trial and error, but I just love a challenge."
Moore, born and raised in Cochran, Ga, moved to Pembroke in 1980 and has called it home since.
She and her husband raised three children in Pembroke and are active in Pembroke First Baptist Church where he is the music minister and she is Sunday school director and sings in the choir.
"I’ve lived in this city for 30 years now," she said Tuesday. "It’s home to me and my family."
Moore also served as co-chair for the church’s Relay for Life team, and said the group has consistently raised $12,000 or more.
She earned credit for beginning the annual Pembroke Christmas parade that just celebrated its 25th anniversary this past year with Moore as the Grand Master.
A degree in home economics from University of Georgia led Moore to a 17-year career with UGA Extension Service and 4-H. Then, in 1992 she earned her Masters from Georgia Southern University in counseling education.
"I was drawn to counseling," Moore said. "People seem to feel comfortable talking to me, and I listen. I’m prepared to listen to the residents of Pembroke."
Moore retired from Bryan County Schools in 2006 as a middle school counselor with 31 years in education.