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Ed Geddings is candidate for Dist. 2 county commission seat
Geddings, who was plant manager for Clark Schwebel Fiberglass, later Hexcel, from 1975 until the plant closed in 2006, led one of the largest employers in the county as it won numerous local, state, and national awards for community involvement, education, and safety. "The Washington plant was considered to be unparalleled in its employee involvement, safety performance, and quality performance for a global electronics and ballistics market," Geddings said. During that time at the helm of Hexcel, Geddings was also active in community leadership, serving as a board member of the Washington- Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, the Community Fund, Jaycees, Kiwanis Club, Boy Scout Council, Little League, and other charitable organizations. Geddings now serves on the Board of Directors of Athens Tech, the Board of Wills Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Wilkes County Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Urban Redevelopment Commission with the city. He and his wife Joan have a son, E.J. Geddings, and two grandchildren. He is a 1971 Industrial Engineering graduate of Clemson University. He is a candidate for the Wilkes County Commission, he said, because he wants to "continue working with the chairman and the board of county commissioners, the mayor and city council, the PDA, and the Chamber of Commerce in attracting new industry to Wilkes County." Although Washington-Wilkes is doing well with tourism and new downtown businesses, Geddings said, "We have got to get our industrial base back with the higher-paying jobs it will offer. New industries will have assets to contribute to the tax base, as well as higher-paying jobs that will allow employees of these companies to build houses and so forth and enhance their input into the community." Wilkes County cannot keep relying on raising property taxes to pay for county services, he said. "We have got to bring in other resources to help diffuse the increase in costs. I feel in my 35 years of experience in global industries and multiple markets will help us in the recruitment of these possible new ventures." Also important to Geddings is the growth of local technical education. He has worked with various groups within the community to enhance vocational education in the county school system and to improve adult education, he said. "Many surrounding counties are preparing themselves for the future by establishing extension sites with Athens Tech for literacy programs, adult education classes, and programs for continuing education," he said. "By my association with being on the board of Athens Tech, I want to work with the city and the county on establishing our own extension site and getting ourselves better prepared for the future."
Geddings said, "There is no better place to live than Washington-Wilkes. We have many great assets, but the most important are the people who live here and the heritage they bring with them. We must enhance these assets and market them to the rest of the world. I feel the experience I have, the relationships I have with all community groups, the feelings for the people in this county, and my desire for us to be even better, would be an asset to our county leadership. I want to work for Wilkes County."
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