Besides working for the Paulding County Government in Georgia, Chuck Rann, Mike Jones and Blake Swafford all graduated from the University of Tennessee.
Before coming to the University of Tennessee, the three received their undergraduate degrees from Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Ga.
“I knew of Blake at Southern Poly but did not meet Mike until we all met up in Knoxville,” Rann, community development director for Paulding County Board of Commissioners, said. “Mike and Blake knew each other well during Southern Poly.”
Although they attended the same college, the three came from different towns.
“Blake is the only one from Paulding County,” Jones, county administrator for Paulding County Board of Commissioners, said. “I grew up in south Cobb County, a suburb of Atlanta, and (Rann) is from Chattanooga.”
Rann began pursuing his master’s in Civil Engineering at UT in 1995.
Jones and Swafford began their postgraduate careers in 1996 working towards master’s degrees in civil/environmental and civil engineering, respectively.
Jones was the first to begin working for Paulding County, starting shortly before graduation in 1997.
“(Rann) worked for an engineering company in Chattanooga for a while and (Swafford) was also working for a private company,” Jones said.
In 2000, both Rann and Swafford accepted positions at Paulding County with Jones.
“He had mentioned to me about coming to Paulding for a couple of years and, in late 2000, Blake and I both ended up starting,” Rann said. “I was working in Chattanooga, but the position in Paulding, at that time senior engineer, was a good opportunity for me.”
After working for a few years with Paulding County, Rann and Jones opened their own engineering company called Edison Engineering Group.
Edison worked on projects in the fields of sanitary sewer collection and treatment, storm water management and water distribution.
Rann and Jones both returned to work for Paulding County in 2009.
“Currently I work as the executive director of Airport and Industrial Building Authority in Paulding County,” Swafford said. “Prior to this, I served as the director for the Department of Transportation.”
Projects that Swafford is working on include expansion of the Paulding County airport, a new local highway and the construction of a new production studio.
The Atlanta Film Studios Paulding County will be one of the first production facilities to be developed outside Atlanta’s city center and made available for third-party rentals.
Rann currently works as community development director and oversees three divisions: building and permiting, development and planning and zoning.
Among many responsibilities, Rann makes sure that zoning and buildings are within county code.
Rann has also taught as an adjunct instructor at Southern Poly, teaching highway design and the construction measurement courses within the Civil Engineering Technology Department.
Jones is serving his second year as the county administrator.
“Basically, I oversee the day-to-day operations of Paulding County,” Jones said. “I help ensure that the policies voted on by Board of Commissioners are implemented. One of my other functions is to manage the county’s budget, which is about $150 million.”
Jones’ position is an appointment by the Board of Commissioners.
Although the three are now well into their professional lives, they do not forget their years at the UT.
“We try to make it up for homecoming each year,” Jones said. “We received a great education from Tennessee and it has served us very well in helping us get to where we are today.”
