CAIRO — Commissioner Keith Moye was selected to serve as chairperson for the Grady County Board of Commissioners in 2020.

County Administrator Buddy Johnson opened Tuesday morning’s commission meeting with a call to nominate a new chairperson for the year. Moye’s name was nominated by his fellow commissioners and was approved unanimously.

“I’m honored to have the support of the other four (commissioners) and to be able to serve,” Moye said.

Moye’s term as chair will expire in 2021. He has never previously served as board chair before, but did serve as vice chair in 2019.

With Moye’s ascension comes several changes to the way board meetings will be run. Starting in February, Moye said the commissioners will have a sign-in sheet for public comments. Residents interested in speaking during the public comments section of board meetings will enter their name and the topic that they wish to discuss, and individuals will be called one by one for their allocated three minutes.

Moye, who describes himself as “a little bit old school,” also requested that hats or caps not be worn in the commissioner’s board room during public meetings.

Outgoing chair LaFaye Copeland thanked the community for supporting her during her year as commission chair — her second stint in the position.

“It’s no easy task sitting in that seat,” Copeland said to those in attendance.

Though she said she sometimes had sleepless nights as board chair, Copeland said she nevertheless enjoyed holding the position.

Separately, Commissioner Phillip Drew was selected to serve as board vice chair.

A motion had initially been made by Copeland to nominate commissioner June Knight as vice chair, but the motion failed to obtain a second. Commissioner Ray Prince said it would be unwise for both the chair and vice chair positions to be held by commissioners in an election year. Moye, Knight and Copeland are each up for election later this year.

With Prince himself unwilling to serve in the position, that left only Drew as a suitable candidate.

One resident in attendance at the meeting took issue with Knight’s exclusion from a board leadership position.

“I suspect that it’s because big money does not like the idea of having June in the chair’s seat next year,” said county resident Peter Wright. “She’s the only one who spoke out a little bit about the slow-motion smash-and-grab which is the big lake.”

Several other positions were also voted on Tuesday morning. John White and Gabe Ridley were selected to return in their roles as county clerk and county attorney, respectively. Representatives were also selected to serve on the 911 Committee, the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission and the Golden Triangle Resource Conservation and Development Council. Prentiss Mitchell was also appointed to the Board of Assessors.