2026 Coweta County Citizen of the Year Nominees

From Staff Reports

The Citizen of the Year award ceremony will be held January 29, at 6:30 p.m. at the Newnan Centre, located at 1515 Lower Fayetteville Road, Newnan. The prestigious event is sponsored by the Kiwanis Clubs of Coweta County.

The award honors an individual showing outstanding leadership and citizenship within the community, someone who has demonstrated exemplary vision, civic pride, and a strong commitment to a better Coweta. A nominee is selected by previous COTY winners. The 2025 winner was April Anderson.

Those nominated for the 2026 Citizen of the Year are Kevin Barbee, Jess Barron, Deidre Bembry, Scott Cortner, and Justin Halford. Each nominee has selected a local non-profit organization, and a donation will be made in honor of the winner and their charity.

Guidelines for selecting the nominee include:

• The nominee should live in Coweta County, and his/her activities should be centered in Coweta County and the surrounding area.

• Consideration will be given to those who demonstrate leadership and performance in multiple areas of community service over a period of years.

• The nominee may be an individual from any walk of life, and there are no requirements or restrictions relating to gender, age, race, religion or ethnic background.

Kevin Barbee

Kevin serves as the Executive Director of ELEVATE Coweta Students, where he leads programs that serve local students to help them thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. With more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience – including previous roles with Clothes Less Traveled and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia – Kevin has built a career around collaboration, compassion, and community impact. He is an active member and past President of the Newnan Rotary Club, a graduate of Leadership Coweta and Leadership Fayette, and serves on numerous local boards and committees including Co-Chair of the Newnan Coweta Chamber Nonprofit Alliance, Keep Newnan Beautiful Commission member, and the University of West Georgia (Newnan Campus) Advisory Board. He is also a proud ELEVATE mentor at Poplar Road Elementary Schools and a longtime Meals on Wheels volunteer.

Kevin and his wife, Teresa, have lived in Coweta County for 27 years. Together they share a blended family of two stepdaughters, one stepson, and two grandchildren.

Kevin’s charity is Elevate Coweta.

Jess Barron

Jess is a Newnan native and a third generation Realtor/Broker. He holds multiple real estate honors, including 2018 Realtor of the Year; youngest member of the local Realtors Million Dollar Club; and “Best of Coweta” in the real estate category in Newnan-Coweta Magazine. Jess is married to Meredith Rich and they have twin daughters, Braelinn and Bentley.

He has served as treasurer for the Coweta Community Foundation, a director for the Wesley Woods Foundation and a board member for Chattahoochee Now. Jess now serves on the Board of Directors for the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trustees for The Heritage School in Newnan, Board Chair for the Housing Authority of Newnan, and a member of the Newnan Urban Redevelopment Agency (NURA).

His charity is Coweta Samaritan Clinic.

Deidre K. Bembry

Deidre is a devoted wife to Trey and proud mother of three daughters and one angel (Keris). Raised in a large, close-knit southern family, Deidre learned early on the profound importance of faith, family, and service – values that continue to guide her both personally and professionally. Deidre’s influence in the community is far-reaching – serving on the Board of the Coweta Community Foundation, mentoring students at Ruth Hill Elementary School, guiding young leaders at the University of West Georgia, championing the small business community as a board member with the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce, and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia Class of 2023.

Professionally, she founded the Deidre K. Bembry Insurance Agency Inc. in 2009, and opened another branch in Palmetto in 2020. Her dedication extends beyond business; as co-founder and Chairperson of Keris Kares Inc., she provides vital support for families impacted by pediatric cancer. Keris Kares also supports elementary art educators in Coweta County through the Keris Kares for the Arts program.

Deidre’s charity is Keris Kares.

Scott Cortner

Scott Cortner has been a resident of Coweta County since 1998. As a man who lacked a sense of ”hometown” growing up, Scott was determined to make Coweta County his permanent home and contribute actively to its success.

A past president of the Newnan Kiwanis Club, Scott has served as the voluntary Chairman of the Coweta County Fair Committee. He has ably chaired this vital community tradition on two separate occasions for a total of eleven years. His leadership has secured a phenomenal legacy: since moving to the current fairgrounds in 2001, proceeds from the fair have contributed over $5.8 million to local charities supporting the children of our county. Furthermore, the 2025 fair proceeds alone contributed a record $316,503.39 from fair proceeds to 58 different 501c3 organizations across the county.

Scott’s depth of character is evident in his distinguished military career, where he achieved the rank of Major, and his spiritual devotion as a Trustee and Youth Committee Chairman at Macedonia Baptist Church. Scott and his wife Janet co-founded the JanSco Foundation in 2020 to further support local causes.

His charity is the Coweta Samaritan Clinic.

Justin Halford

Justin is the Business Development Manager for Johnson Construction Group, a women-owned general contractor based in Coweta County. His career includes electrical utility work, safety management, and construction leadership, and he holds ASP and STSC certifications. He is pursuing a Master’s in Public Administration at the University of West Georgia.

Justin is involved in Rotary, the Newnan Coweta Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Coweta, and chairs the Coweta Safety Alliance. He has two daughters, Ansley and Amelia.

Justin serves on the Coweta County Board of Elections, volunteers with various nonprofits and contributes to community development initiatives.

His charity is More Music Foundation.

For more information regarding tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jeff Coggin, email [email protected], phone 770-250-8868.