Jehan El-Jourbagy Is Citizen of the Year

Jehan El-Jourbagy was named Jasper County’s 2013 Citizen of the Year at the Monticello-Jasper County Chamber of Commerce annual meeting held last Thursday at Thomas Persons Hall.

Also at the meeting, Kathy Mudd was inducted as the new chairman of the board, and the board members were introduced. They include Skip Davis, vice-chair; Carol Ann McMichael, treasurer, and Linda Simmons, secretary, and Lori Gray, immediate past president (not present).

Also, board members include Angela Spivey, Brandie Deraney, Dodie Proctor, Sage Edwards, and the newest members of the board Robert Ross, Lyndsy Holman and Alma Abbott. The remainder of the board is made up of ex-officio members, currently, Dr. Mike Newton, superintendent of Jasper County schools, Karen Degges, Jasper County Manager.

Andrea “Cissy” Benton is president and executive director of the COC.

The Citizen of the Year (COTY) award is presented annually. Anyone can nominate the citizen, and a panel of judges makes the selection. The judges are previous citizens of the year. Last year’s citizen of the year Juanita Thompson chaired the committee. She asked 2007 COTY Mary Lou Jordan to help her make the presentation Thursday.

Mrs. Jordan read the following about Ms. El-Jourbagy:

“Being happy and serving others. Having a good reputation. By your actions and deeds, serving as a role model to others.”

This is how this year’s Citizen of the Year defines success. And indeed, it is how she has lived her life from her early years growing up here in Jasper County to her present-day roles in our community as a non-profit director, teacher, small-town lawyer, and active volunteer.

The value of continually bettering one’s community and oneself is one that Jehan El-Jourbagy has learned in her life. Raised in Monticello since age 4, Jehan has striven to excel and be that role model in both her professional and personal life. Even as a high school student here in Jasper County, Jehan was not afraid to take on leadership roles, serving as a state officer in both the Georgia State 4-H Association and the Georgia Junior Academy of Science.

Her father, a longtime educator in our community, said, “Jehan has been an easy child, eager to learn and not afraid of voicing her opinion!”

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As an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, Jehan earned dual bachelor degrees in Journalism and Public Relations in 2000, while being actively involved in many organizations, including the Redcoat Marching Band, the Student Government Association, the International Student Life Office, and Habitat for Humanity. In addition, in 1999 she studied abroad at the American University in Cairo, Egypt with an emphasis in Middle Eastern Politics and Arabic language. During her college summers, she worked with high school students at the Georgia Governors’ Honors Program.

In 2003, Jehan earned her law degree from the University of Georgia, focusing on public interest and environmental law. In 2002, she won the UGA Award for Environmental Advocacy and the Equal Justice Works Public Interest Award. Continuing to focus on social issues, in 2003 as a visiting student at the University of Oregon School of Law, she served as President of the Environmental Law Association and Co-Director of the Coalition Against Environmental Racism. She practiced in Eugene, Oregon for two years as a workers’ compensation and social security claimants’ attorney, as well as worked with the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group and Western Environmental Law Center, both in Portland, Oregon.

Returning to her hometown of Monticello in 2005, she served as a Superior Court Judicial Law Clerk for the 8-county Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, before joining the law firm of Haygood, Lynch, Harris, Melton and Watson based in Forsyth and Monticello. She became a partner with the firm in 2009, focusing primarily on domestic and criminal law.

Reflecting on her own values, Jehan has said, “I was incredibly proud to partner with these five attorneys who admirably balance family, community service and careers with integrity.” Since the birth of her first child in December 2009, Jehan has been “of counsel” with the law firm, on an extended leave from litigation but doing part-time work with emphasis on estate planning, incorporations and disability.

In the summer of 2010, Jehan became the executive director of the Jasper County Mentor Program, where she recruits and matches adult volunteers with children in the local public schools. Over the past three years, her efforts have increased the number of mentors nearly two-fold. Since spring 2012, Jehan has also served as a public relations consultant for Jasper County Schools, writing news articles, publishing a quarterly newsletter, and maintaining the district webpage.

In addition, striving to promote the arts in her community, Jehan helped to found the Monticello Community Band in 2007 which she currently directs in three annual concerts. With her music background in the UGA Redcoat Band and love of education, Jehan has been instrumental in the establishment of community band scholarships for graduating seniors and raising funds for a grand piano for the local high school. In addition, combining her passion for music and teaching, Jehan currently provides piano lessons to five local elementary school students.

In 2007, Jehan completed leadership and community development training with Leadership Jasper and the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. She is currently or has been an active board member and/or volunteer for the Monticello Kiwanis Club, the Monticello Downtown Development Authority, Team Jasper, Monticello Parks Committee, the Jasper County Historical Foundation, the Jasper County Art Trail Committee, the Jasper County Water & Sewer Authority, the Zoning Appeals Board, the Get Ahead House, and Monticello Community Ultimate Frisbee. In sum, she has been a dedicated advocate in general for the arts, public education, 4-H, and “smart-growth” community development.

For her past local leadership efforts, Jehan was named a “Monticello Kiwanian of the Year” in 2007, the “Leadership Jasper Outstanding Leader of the Year” in 2008, and was honored with a “Jasper County High School Above and Beyond Award” in 2008. Further recognized at the state level in 2008, she received a prestigious award from the Georgia Bar Association — the ninth annual Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service from the Georgia Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism.

Regarding that award, one community member remarked, “the greatest beneficiaries of Ms. El-Jourbagy’s contributions are the citizens of Monticello and Jasper County, children and adults alike. She is committed to her hometown and wants to make her community the best it can be. Her enthusiastic and tireless support of local education, preservation, recreation, agriculture and civics make her an excellent candidate for this award.”

Continuing in that spirit of leadership, Jehan was named in 2012 as one of the University of Georgia’s “40 Under 40,” outstanding alumni under the age of 40 who have continued to live out the three pillars of the UGA Arch — wisdom, justice and moderation.

These “40 under 40” are chosen because they are dynamic leaders who care about their communities and the world around them.

Recently, this fall, pursuing her interests in teaching, Jehan joined the faculty at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville as a part-time instructor in the College of Business, where she teaches “Business Ethics” and “Legal Environment of Business” to undergraduates. And locally, here at Thomas Persons Hall, she has been teaching a “Survey of World Dances” course.

Further dedicated to the education of our community’s youth, over the years Jehan has been a regular volunteer at Jasper County High School, serving as a coach to the Speech and Debate and Georgia Envirothon teams since 2008, and past advisor to the high school’s Georgia Mock Trial, Science Olympiad, and Academic Quiz teams. Her presentation of questions and sing-alongs at the Academic Teams Trivia Night Fundraiser has become a delightful annual treat – incidentally, there’s still time to sign up for this year’s event to be held next Thursday! In addition, she has given presentations on leadership to the high school’s Leading Ladies & Distinguished Gentleman’s clubs and spoken at various engagements about professionalism.

Yet among these many hats she wears, Jehan is also a stay-at-home mom to her two young children, 4-year son Ryker Hawke, and 2-year old daughter Faraday West. Her husband, Tyson Harty, a science teacher at Jasper County High School had this to say about his wife: “Yeah, Jehan really is spectacular. I know I’m a bit biased, of course, but she really does manage to dedicate herself to so many different things at once, and yet she is able to efficiently balance those responsibilities while performing well at all.

More than anyone I know, Jehan expresses herself very well, both when speaking and writing, and I’m continually amazed at her ability to characterize things in ways I never would have thought of, blending intelligent reflection, humor and empathy, all in a concise, clear package. I envy her in this, but hey, a little competitiveness is always good between best friends . . .”

All said, this year’s Citizen of the Year, with her broad interests and many talents, has indeed become that role model that defines her vision of success, remaining dedicated to those core values she holds dear – the importance of family, community, and a passion for learning. In her own words she speaks to all of us,“Set expectations for yourself, and then do your best to meet them. Don’t disappoint yourself!”