Friends and family wish Conley well in retirement

Conley spent the time chatting with his many guests, all of whom attended to celebrate a “job well done” by the dedicated public servant whose 26 and a half years of elective office at City Hall will conclude at the end of this month.

“It hasn’t all hit me yet, but when it does – I’m just so full of gratitude, it’s hard for me to explain,” Conley said, overwhelmed by the showing of support by “all the people of the city who came out to honor me.”

Mixed in with the “thank yous” and “farewells” for his time as mayor was an atmosphere of joyous reunion, featuring a diverse array of attendees ranging from people who have known Conley, 84, his whole life to those who have strived alongside him for the betterment of the city.

Blairsville Police Chief Michael “Bear” Baxter has worked with Conley his entire city career, and he described the mayor as a good friend to him and many others, as well as a tremendous champion of the city who always made himself accessible to the public and did the right thing.

“He is dedicated to Blairsville and wants the best for the citizens and the visitors and the businesses of our town,” Baxter said. “He has just been a supporter of everything that’s made this town successful.”

Baxter said Conley has been a great advocate of Blairsville PD and “law enforcement in general,” a sentiment backed up by retired sheriff Mack Mason, whose office worked hand-in-glove with Blairsville PD to keep residents safe, thanks in large part to Conley’s leadership.

“I am grateful for Mayor Conley and all he’s done for the city and the county, and I appreciate the fine working conditions that we always had together,” Mason said.

Conley’s legacy and successes on behalf of the city are too many to list here, but he, too, is proud of the relationship between the Sheriff’s Office and Blairsville PD, and indeed, the other working relationships he shared with county and state officials.

He is also proud of the work he helped oversee in expanding City Hall in the mid to late-2000s to add a building onto the Historic Jail, creating new offices for the City Clerk, Accounting Clerk, the Police Department, the Downtown Development Authority and Council Chambers.

In more recent years, Conley helped to steer the development of standalone police headquarters with the city’s purchase and remodel of the building next to City Hall, enabling Council Chambers to be expanded once again.

To improve walkability downtown, the mayor worked with State Sen. Steve Gooch to secure funding through the Georgia Department of Transportation for a major sidewalk project running the length of Wellborn Street from the square to Grandaddy Mimm’s Distilling Co.

And under his leadership, the city and DDA were able to finally erect public restrooms and install a badly needed parking lot in Downtown Blairsville, and he has guided expansion of the Wastewater Treatment Plant over the years in his quest to offer the best services to the public.

Conley has always made it a point to upgrade city facilities when needed, for instance, the then-new Maintenance Building he helped establish as a councilman, and later, as mayor, he traveled Georgia and Tennessee with local pilot W.C. Nelson to research the construction of a world-class terminal at the Blairsville Municipal Airport.

The W.C. Nelson Terminal Building opened in 2017 as a clear testament to the importance of the Blairsville Airport to Conley and the city as a destination-making economic venture for not just Union County but the region.

A lifelong friend of Conley, Nelson credits his vision and that of the City Council for continuing to foster interest in and improvement of the local airport, where ongoing safety and quality of life updates remain in the works.

“Jim has worked hard for the city,” Nelson said. “If a road was bad, he cared about it and tried to get it fixed, as well as anything else in trying to improve the city – and the airport.

“He and the council were very innovative. A little town like Blairsville wouldn’t have an airport like we’ve got if it wasn’t for this group in the city.”

Nelson was happy to support Conley at the party, speaking with others about their extensive shared history. The two native sons played together as kids, with Conley serving as the leader of a group of local children who had fun the old-fashioned way – outside and with plenty of imagination.

Leadership is something Conley has long been acquainted with, as attested to also by his niece, Ann Miller, who relayed at the party that Conley, a popular and “well put together” student, served as both Junior and Senior Class President at Union County High in the late 1950s.

Twelve years younger than Conley, Miller said she benefited from growing up with a patient uncle who minded the best interests of those around him, and she views Conley’s deep history with the area as the perfect bridge to have guided Blairsville responsibly into the 21st century.

After a successful career in the grocery industry, Conley retired from Marietta in the early 1980s and returned home to Blairsville to care for his beloved mother Estelle. He got involved in city politics in the mid-1990s at the urging of his friend Bill Forster, and the rest is history.

Conley may be leaving office – he served on the City Council for several years before winning election five times as mayor – but in addition to spending time with his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, plus exercising more in retirement, he will still be involved with city affairs.

He looks forward to attending City Council meetings as a member of the public moving forward, and he will also maintain a volunteer presence at the Board of Health, the Historical Society and the Chamber of Commerce.

Ultimately, Conley said the legacy he leaves behind as a dependable servant leader would not be possible without the hard-working employees he has had the privilege of overseeing throughout the years, with trust serving as the key to the city’s success.

“They have always been as good as they come,” Conley said. “I trusted and could depend upon each and every employee. I’ve always said that the people that work for the city made my job easy, because they’ve always stepped up and got the job done.

“I’ve guided them and given them (freedom to do their jobs), but I could always depend that the job would get done and I’d get a phone call telling me it’s taken care of. And that goes for every department, including City Hall, too.”

Taking over from Conley will be longtime Councilman Robert “Buddy” Moore, who will swear in as mayor on Friday to serve the remainder of Conley’s unexpired term through December.

“We’ve worked together for 15 years, and he’s a hard worker who has seen a lot of long hours,” Moore said Saturday, echoing a common refrain. “You’ve probably heard other people say that the city is his life; he really loves the city and does what he thinks is best for it – always has.”