Hi, I'm Carolyn Jean Cary.

A native of Akron, Ohio, graduate of the public schools there, I attended Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio for two years.

Although not a native, I'm a transplanted Southerner, having lived in Georgia for the past (in 2001 it's 42 years) and in Fayette County for 35 years.

I was cochairman of the Fayette County Sesquicentennial in 1971, and cofounder of the Fayette County Historical Society in 1972. In 1977 I served as editor of "The History of Fayette County" and was named Citizen of the Year that year.

I served as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for Fayette County in 1975 for six years and won three state awards for that work.

I was honored to be the Fayette County Business and Professional Women's first vice president in the early 1970s and also served on the Fayette County Cancer Board for 11 years.

When the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce began in 1967, I was a founding member and served as its first executive secretary for four years, operating out of my living room until the chamber could afford office space.

I received awards from the Creek Indian Nation and Clan Mackintosh for work on their behalf, the Fayette County Jaycees and the Kiwanis Club of Peachtree City.

In 1982 I was named as the second "official county historian" by the Fayette County commissioners and serve in that capacity today.

A member of the Fayetteville First United Methodist Church since 1966, I taught Sunday School for over 30 years.

I'm a member of the Fayette County Historical Society, Friends of Laurel Grove and Friends of Bonaventure cemeteries in Savannah; The Longstreet Society, Gainesville, Ga.; Gold Wing Road Riders Association and the Order of Robert E. Lee, auxiliary of the Sharpsburg Sharpshooters Camp 1729, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

One of the thrills of my life was being chosen as an Olympic torch bearer during the 1996 Olympics, and I was proud to be the one carrying it into the new "Heritage Park" in Fayetteville, since I was among those who created and developed the park.

For The Citizen, I do some of this and some of that. I occasionally write a history column and anytime there's a historical angle on a feature article, I usually do that, too. I write general feature articles, do all the leg work for The Citizen's twice-a-year FactFinders, write church features, cover the Brooks Town Council and fill in wherever I can.