ATLANTA — Hinesville City Council members Keith Jenkins (District 4) and Bobby Ryon (District 2) received certificates of achievement from the Georgia Municipal Training Institute at the Georgia Municipal Association’s Annual Mayors’ Day Conference in Atlanta on Jan. 24.
The Georgia Municipal Training Institute, a cooperative effort of GMA and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, provides a series of training opportunities for elected city officials. To receive a certificate, an official must complete a minimum of 72 credits. The training program consists of a series of 24, six-unit courses.  
Both council members are in their first terms, which began January 2008. The next certificate level is the certificate of excellence, which requires 120 hours of training.
“This is an outstanding achievement,” said GMA Executive Director Jim Higdon. “We commend [the] council members for this accomplishment and for the dedication shown in using this valuable resource to become more effective city officials.”
Based in Atlanta, the GMA is a voluntary, nonprofit organization that provides legislative advocacy, research, training, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its 500 member cities in Georgia.