Ashlan Troutman, Assistant Finance Director at the City of Covington, joined the team in 2015. She holds a Master of Accountancy degree from the University of Georgia and an active Certified Public Accountant license through the Georgia State Board of Accountancy. Ashlan is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association, and serves as the conference committee chair and active member of the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association.

Ashlan is married to Covington fire captain Adam Webb. They reside with their dog, Wookie, in Jasper County. In her free time, she enjoys working outside on pretty days, sewing and vacationing to the beach.

Audra began her career with the City in August 1988 as a Telephone Utility Operator for the Customer Service Department. She was appointed as City Clerk in January 2012. Audra achieved  a Certified Municipal Clerk designation in 2012, Masters Municipal Clerk in 2015, and International Institute of Municipal Clerks Certification in 2016. Audra was selected as 2020 Clerk of the Year by the Georgia Municipal Clerks Association. She and her husband Greg have been residents of Newton County since 1997.

Brian Yoder has been with the City of Covington since 2008. He is the current Assistant Public Works Director and previously served as the Water/Sewer Construction Department Assistant Manager and Interim Solid Waste Manager.

As a 2019 graduate of Mercer University, he received a Bachelor of Business Administration and in addition to his BBA, he also earned a Technical Certificate of Credit from Georgia Piedmont Technical College as a Supervisor/Management Specialist. Brian also holds state issued Water Distribution and Waste Water Collections Systems licenses. Presently, he is pursuing a Class 3 Waste Water Operator License

An avid disc golfer in his spare time, Brian was able to lend his passion for the sport to the development of Covington Central Park as co-designer of Parker’s Pasture Disc Golf Course. When he is not on the disc golf course, he and his wife Erin enjoy watching their son, Boston, play travel baseball.

Donnie Tudor, Chief of Operations, began his career with Covington Fire Department as a firefighter in August 24, 1998. Tudor was promoted to the rank of engineer in 2004. After serving as an Engineer for 2 years, he was promoted to the rank of Fire Lieutenant on C shift. In October of 2013, he was promoted the position of Fire Captain on B shift until July of 2018, when he moved to his current position.

As Operations Chief, he is responsible for the day to day operations of the 48 fire personnel. During his career, Donnie has served on the Dive Team, Honor Guard, Apparatus Committee, Operations Committee, received the Firefighter of the Year Award, Award of Excellence in 2005 and Fire Chief’s Leadership Award in 2014.

Jeremy Holmes, Fire Chief of Covington Fire Department, joined the department in 1999 and was appointed Fire Chief in July 2018.  Holmes holds an Associate degree in Fire Management from Georgia State University, a Bachelor degree in Public Safety Leadership from Mercer University and a Juris Doctorate from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School.  Jeremy and his wife Bonnie have 5 children and reside in Oxford, Ga. 

Joel Smith has been in the electrical field since 1998.  The first half of his career began In the commercial/industrial electrical field before swapping to power distribution in 2013.  He has been employed at the City of Covington since 2013 where he has served as Underground Distribution Supervisor before becoming the Electric Director in 2021.  He has a State of Georgia Electrical Contractor License, ITS Certifications and various certifications through Electric Cities of Georgia.  He is also currently enrolled at Georgia State University.

Joel has been a resident of Newton County since 1998.  He and his wife, Tiffany, have 2 sons.  He enjoys any activities with his family and following his son’s various baseball teams.

John King has been with the City of Covington for 10 years. He holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Science and an M.S. in Management. He is also certified as a commercial pilot and EMT.  John is a member of the Rotary Club of Covington (Past President), Leadership Newton County (Past Chairman) and on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Airports Association. In his free time, he enjoys sailing.

Kevin Sorrow is a lifelong resident of Covington. He graduated from Newton High School and holds a B.S. in Forestry Resources from the University of Georgia and a Master of Public Administration from Troy University. Kevin has been an employee of the City of Covington since 1997 and prior to becoming the Public Works Director, he served as the Water Reclamation Division Assistant Manager. Along with his 20+ years experience, Kevin holds a Waste Water Operator, Class 1 license, he is a registered forester in the state of Georgia and he is an ISA Certified Arborist. Kevin is dedicated to providing high quality success, is loyal to the team and leads with personal enthusiasm.

Mike Jewell has worked in the natural gas industry for 34 years and has served as Natural Gas Director for the City of Covington since 2017. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Public Gas Association, Chairman of the Georgia Municipal Association-Gas Section, Heat Energy Assistance Team (HEAT Inc) Vice-Chairman and Board of Directors for the Natural Gas Association of Georgia.

Mike is married to Christy Jewell and they enjoy spending time with their seven grandchildren. He also likes to garden, go fishing and enjoys walking/hiking.

Paul has been with the City of Covington since 1989 when he joined the Covington Police Department as a rookie officer.  He rose through the ranks of the police department and retired in 2015 after 26 years of working patrol, criminal investigations, support services, community outreach and undercover drug enforcement. He accepted the position of Assistant Human Resources Director in March of 2015 and was promoted into the Director position in January 2017. 

Paul has a B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Georgia (1988) and a M.S. in Public Administration from Troy University (2000).  He has obtained credentialing as an Advanced Human Resource Management Professional (ACHRM) from the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government and his Trustee certification from the Georgia Association of Public Pension Trustees (GAPPT).  He was selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Local Government Personnel Association (GLGPA) in 2016 and remains an active Board member.  Paul attended the FBI National Academy in 2004 (Session 219) and continues to be an involved member of the FBINA organization both at the federal and state level.  Locally, he has been on the Project Renewal Domestic Violence Shelter Executive Board of Directors since 2006 serving as President of the Board from 2009-2015. 

Away from work, Paul enjoys traveling with his wife Teri or just spending time with family and friends.

Philip has been a police officer with the Covington Police Dept for 35 yrs. starting with the department when he was 18 yrs. old. He has served in all divisions of the department to include the jail (and yes, Covington once had a jail) patrol, investigations, and administration.  Philip has spent most of his career assigned to the narcotics division where he worked for 16 years. Philip has risen through the ranks to his current position of Assistant Chief of Police.

In his current position he oversees the daily operations in all divisions of the department. Philip is a certified POST instructor in Defensive tactics, ASP Baton, OC pepper spray, and the Taser. Philip is a graduate of the 200th session of the FBI National Academy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Troy University. Philip was born and raised in Covington. He is married to his wife Dalleen for 28 years and has three children. 

Randy has been employed by the City of Covington as the Finance Director since August of 2013.  He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and has an active certified Public Accountant license issued by the Georgia State Board of Accountancy.  Randy has worked in the accounting and auditing field for over 25years.  He is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association, the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts.  He also earned the designation of Certified Government Chief Information Officer issued by the Carl Vinson Institute of Technology as well as Certified Public Pension Trustee, and obtained the Key Public Power Account Executive designation.  Randy completed the coursework for the Municipal Revenue Administration Certificate Program through the Georgia Municipal Association and completed the Leadership Newton County program. 

Since being employed at the City of Covington, the Finance Department has applied for and received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting award first in 2015 and every year since and the Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award first in 2017 and every year since.  Finance is currently working towards receiving the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award issued by the Government Finance Officers Association.  Randy is passionate about developing efficient processes with very good controls and encouraging others to obtain their personal and professional goals.

Randy lives in the nearby town of Locust Grove, Georgia and enjoys playing disc golf at many of the courses throughout the state as well as mountain biking and swimming.  His motto in life and athletics is NEGU: Never Ever Give Up.

Robert started with the City in May 1998. He has worked with the Water and Sewer Department for his tenure at the City. Starting out as an Equipment Operator, Robert moved up through the ranks to the current position of Water and Sewer Manager. He holds state issued Water Distribution and Waste Water Collections Systems licenses as well as a Customer Service Specialist certification from DeKalb Technical College and certification from the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government Management Development Program. When Robert is not at work, he likes to spend time with his family and friends. He and his wife Niki enjoy beach vacations and mountain getaways whenever they have the opportunity. Along with his staff, Robert is eager to serve the citizens of Covington each and every day!

Stacey Lanier Cotton has served as Chief of Police for the City of Covington, Georgia since 1997.  Originally hired as a patrol officer in 1987 he has held the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Assistant Chief. Under his leadership, the Covington Police Department has remained CALEA-accredited since it was initially accredited in 1985 and is celebrating 34 years as an internationally accredited agency.  In addition to a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University, where has served as an adjunct professor, Chief Cotton holds two Masters Degrees from Troy University; one in Public Administration and one in Criminal Justice.  Chief Cotton is also a 1997 graduate of the FBI National Academy – Session 188 and was a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2006. 

Chief Cotton has served on many boards and is involved with many community programs.  In 2019 Governor Brian Kemp appointed Chief Cotton to the Board of Public Safety.  He was a founding member and past chairman of the Newton-Walton Child Advocacy Center “A Child’s Voice”.  He is a past president of the Georgia Association of Chief of Police (2009-10) and was named Police Chief of the year for the State Of Georgia in 2012.  Chief Cotton was awarded the Robert Stubbs III Guardian of Ethics award in 2015 and is the past recipient of the E. G. Lassiter Covington Rotarian of the Year in 2012 and served as Rotary President 2016-17.  In 2015 Governor Nathan Deal named Chief Cotton to the Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis.

Chief Cotton is a life member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and served on the board of directors as a member of the Financial Review Committee along with several other committees over his 23 year membership. 

Chief Cotton has traveled extensively both in the US and abroad to study and improve police services internationally.  He has to traveled London, Turkey, Israel, Hungary, and the Republic of Georgia and has instructed internationally. 

He is a member of Covington First Baptist Church.  Chief Cotton is married to Lana Lane and they have three children, Kole, Kyle, Madisyn and grandson Lanier.  

Trudy Henry began her career in Communications in July 1994 as a Communications Officer with the Covington-Newton County 911 Center in Covington, Georgia. While employed with Covington-Newton County 911, she was promoted and assigned as supervisor, 1998. As a supervisor, Trudy supervised four communications officers, handled disciplinary actions for employees assigned to shift, investigated complaints/libelous incidents, and supervised the training of new personnel assigned to her shift.

Henry was selected as the Operations Manager in June 2003. As the Operations Manager Henry facilitated the purchase of equipment and remodeling of a new location for the 911 Center. Covington-Newton County 911 moved into the new location in November 2003. In this position, Henry oversaw the hiring process for communications officers, review all complaints/libelous incidents, investigate complaints involving team leaders, supervise and assist the CALEA accreditation process, review and create training for the 911 center, create and implement policy and procedure changes, monitor and complete payroll for all 911 center employees, primary contact for all equipment vendors for the Center, and participate in the budget process with the City of Covington and Newton County.

Henry was appointed as the 911 Director at Covington-Newton County 911 in July 2019. In October 2019, Henry facilitated another move for the 911 Center. In this position, Henry maintains professional relationships with all of the public safety agencies the 911 Center serves.

She works closely with the 911 Board of Governors, and oversees the 911 Center’s budget.

Henry earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Mercer University in 2003 and a Masters of Education degree from Troy University in 2005.

Georgia POST Certifications:
Basic Communications Officer

General Instructor

Supervisory Certification

Honors:

Member of the 911 Advisory Committee appointed by Governor Nathan Deal

Steering Committee for Youth Leadership Newton County

Newton County Leadership Program

Veterans of Foreign War Award

Employee of the Year

Superintendent’s Award

Who’s Who Historical Society – International Who’s Who of Professional Management

Professional Memberships:

Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO)