PART I: Dougherty Commission Chair Jeff Sinyard set to end 30 years of public service

Editor’s note: First in a two-part series.

ALBANY — Scientists may, at some point, find a way to quantitatively measure the level of a man’s love and devotion.

Until that time, an adequate standard for such measure has been established at the top of the Dougherty County government. Even those who would argue the point will admit that few have ever devoted themselves to a community more so than outgoing Dougherty County Commission Chairman Jeff Sinyard has his hometown.

Sinyard will preside over his final commission meeting Monday, ending a 30-year career that has been as much love affair as it has been civil service. At 59, he still has the conviction and passion that drove him at 29. But the man who everyone calls “Bodine” has decided it’s time to leave the business of the local government to others.

“Any time you make a decision like this, there are a number of factors,” Sinyard said. “Ultimately, though, I’m at the beginning of a succession plan with my business. I’ve started transitioning Adams (Exterminators) to my boys, and I really need time to put that in place. That is the true catalyst.

“And, frankly, there are times now when I get a little tired. Dougherty County’s citizens deserve to have a commission chairman who has all the energy in the world.”

Sinyard stunned most in the community when he announced Jan. 27 that he would leave office at the end of the year. Attorney and former Dougherty Assistant District Attorney Chris Cohilas will be sworn in as Sinyard’s replacement Jan. 5, having earned the commission chairmanship in the May 20 Democratic primary election. Cohilas will have some large shoes to fill.

“It’s almost impossible to replace a man like Jeff Sinyard,” Georgia Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Chris Clark, a Fitzgerald native, said. “Those of us in South Georgia have seen our political might diminish over the last few years because the state population has moved toward Atlanta. But Bodine took it upon himself to be that ambassador for Albany, Dougherty County and Southwest Georgia.

“Talk to anyone on the state level, and they say the same thing about Jeff. He’s professional; he does things the right way. A lot of people hope he will continue to advocate for our part of the state.”

Friends, business acquaintances and politicos from Albany to Atlanta to Washington sing Sinyard’s praises as he prepares for the next phase of his life, one that for a period will keep him out of the public eye. All point to his winning personality as a key component of his charismatic makeup. That personality, ironically enough, was partially developed early, as Sinyard learned to compensate for always being the new kid in town.

Born in Albany on Aug. 17, 1955, Sinyard attended nine separate schools before landing at Albany High School as a 16-year-old junior in 1971. His father, Jimmy Sinyard, was a sales rep for Union Oil and was transferred from Albany to Augusta to Rome to Atlanta to Columbus before coming back to Albany.

“Always being the new person in school strengthens you,” Sinyard said. “I think whatever personality I have was developed from that. And, of course, the biggest blessing from that time for me was sports. Whether it was midget football or Little League baseball, I always played sports wherever I went. That allowed me to make friends and helped me adjust to each move.”

Those who have often wondered will be surprised to learn that Sinyard was given his endearing nickname while playing Little League baseball.

“I wish there was a better story,” Sinyard says, “but when I was playing Little League ball and the announcer called out my name when I came up to bat, he’d say, ‘Now batting, Jeff “Bodine” Sinyard.’ Jethro Bodine was one of the Clampett characters on TV at that time (on ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ sitcom), and when he did that, the kids started calling me ‘Bodine.’ It just stuck.”

At Albany High, Sinyard was an All-City standout on both the football (as cornerback) and baseball (left fielder/shortstop) teams. He has fond memories of playing both sports.

“We were 3-0 my senior year, and everyone was excited about our game with 3-0 Valdosta,” he says. “Man, they gave us a lesson in humility. We were warming up when the PA announcer said, ‘Here come the Wildcats!’ They must have dressed out 80 to 100 players. As they kept coming out onto the field, I started getting a feeling of what it was like for the Christians at the Coliseum in Rome.

“I don’t remember the final score, but I remember we ‘held’ Stan Rome to four touchdowns that night. Later, we ‘held’ William Andrews (who was a star running back at Thomasville High School) to 200 yards. I think I personally rode William for 100 of those yards.”

The Albany High baseball team was among the state’s Top 10 during Sinyard’s senior year, but the Indians were stunned early in the playoffs by crosstown rival Westover. Sinyard, who batted around .440 that year, and several of his AHS teammates later starred on a Post 30 American Legion team that drew the attention of coaches at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton. Four of them signed scholarships to play with the two-year college.

Sinyard continued to shine at ABAC, which was undefeated in regional play his sophomore season and was headed to the junior college world series before being stunned in back-to-back games by rival Middle Georgia College. (“The most devastated I’ve ever been in athletics,” Sinyard says.)

Sinyard was asked to try out for the University of Georgia’s baseball team, but a broken ankle he suffered over the Christmas holidays ended that opportunity. Several friends who had played baseball with him at ABAC were playing for Georgia Southwestern College in Americus, so Sinyard left Athens to join them. He played at Southwestern for a year before calling it a career.

“When I first came to Georgia Southwestern, playing baseball seemed like the most important thing in the world,” Sinyard said. “I’d always had such a wonderful time playing sports. But there always comes an end of the line, and I’d reached mine. I walked away, end of story.”

While at ABAC, Sinyard met Brinson native Lillie Bridges, who became his best friend. That friendship would eventually blossom into love and turn into a courtship that has been ongoing for four decades.

“I had a boyfriend and he had a girlfriend when we were at ABAC,” Lillie Sinyard says of her husband of 36 years. “We were best friends, more like brother and sister. I knew everything about him. That probably is one of the reasons we’ve had such a lasting marriage.”

When Sinyard transferred from UGA to Southwestern, he was surprised to learn that Lillie was there as well. They started going out “as friends” until their relationship took a romantic turn.

“Lillie had always known what I was going to do before I did it,” Sinyard said. “It’s funny, when we first met, we ate lunch together every day, but she had no romantic interest in me and I had no interest in her in that way. But marrying her was one of the smartest things I ever did. Over the years, she’s been my backbone, my rock. On my worst days, when I’d get home at 11 o’clock, beaten down, she’d tell me, ‘Everything’s gonna be all right.’ She has a way of bringing me peace.”

After graduating from Southwestern, Sinyard started work toward attaining an MBA, but he quickly abandoned that idea as a “waste of time.” He was hired by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and quickly made his mark with the company. Within a year he’d risen to sales manager, and within three years he’d become MetLife’s youngest-ever district manager.

Sinyard had married Lillie in 1978, and they settled in Tifton, where she taught elementary school. Like his father before him, Sinyard’s rise up the MetLife ladder meant strategic moves. He was transferred to Augusta in 1981 — a move that forced Lillie to see nine different OB/gyns before giving birth to their oldest son, Bridges — and a short while later, the young family had to pack up again.

This time, though, the move was back to Albany. And it would become permanent.

During his 10-year career with MetLife, Sinyard hired and trained a total of 110 insurance reps. He called the job “the toughest I ever had” but admits the knowledge and training he acquired has bolstered him throughout his professional career.

When MetLife started talking about another move — Miami, Little Rock, Ark., and New York were his choices — Sinyard balked. He and Lillie had decided that they wanted to raise their family, which by then included another son, Stuart, in Southwest Georgia, so Sinyard started sending out feelers. He asked renowned banker Morgan Murphy if Murphy would serve as a reference for him, and Murphy went him one better. He offered Sinyard a job at Albany’s First State Bank.

Sinyard, who had been coaxed into running for and had won a vacant seat on the Dougherty County Commission in 1985, was told by the bank that he had to give up that seat when his term ended in 1988. But he was appointed to serve on the nascent city/county Economic Development Commission, an appointment that kept him abreast of community developments.

“I understood why the bank didn’t want me to serve on the County Commission, but they encouraged my participation on the EDC,” Sinyard said. “That allowed me to be actively involved in the community. I guess one of my proudest days was being among the group that met the first contingent from Cooper Tire at the airport when they were looking at locating here in the former Firestone plant. There was so much excitement when they came here and brought 1,300 direct jobs and another 800 support jobs.

“Of course, I don’t think I’ve ever felt worse inside than when they announced they were leaving ( in 2008). People don’t know how hard we worked for eight months to do everything we could to keep them here.”

Jones Hooks, who was hired as the first president of the Albany-Dougherty EDC and now serves as executive director of the Jekyll Island Authority, said he knew during his time in Albany that Sinyard was going to be a major player in the community.

“Jeff Sinyard is unique,” Hooks said. “You could tell that right away. He’s going to be missed on the political scene in Albany and Dougherty County, but I think he’ll be involved in the life of that community forever. He just has to be.

“Jeff has never been a talker; he’s more of a doer. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. He’s so likeable and he’s been the perfect ambassador for Albany and Dougherty County. He has a list of friends a mile long, all the way to Atlanta and Washington. I don’t think everyone there realizes how much he’s done for the community.”

One of Sinyard’s customers at First State Bank approached him in 1993 about a possible loan to purchase the Adams Exterminators business that owner J.D. Adams was thinking of selling. That customer didn’t get the loan, but his interest lit a spark in Sinyard.

“Ethically and morally, I didn’t feel comfortable considering that business because of my customer’s involvement,” Sinyard said. “But it did interest me. I decided to give it a year to see if the other gentleman would have an opportunity to buy the business. When he didn’t, I started having a dialogue with J.D. Adams. He was the finest Christian man, and for almost a year we’d meet at Shoney’s to have coffee.”

In July of 1994, Sinyard bought Adams’ exterminator business. Knowing “nothing at all about killing bugs,” Sinyard soaked up the knowledge of a man who’d started work with Otto Orkin in 1944 and ran his own successful exterminating business for 50 years. The adjustment was tough for a man who was going from suit-and-tie to crawl suit.

“I knew if I wanted the respect of the people who worked for me, I had to know the business,” Sinyard said. “No one had to wake me up in the mornings, I knew I had work to do. Mr. Adams was wonderful; he was 65 years old but would crawl under houses with me every day to show me how to inspect them. He was a vital part of the business right up until the day he died.”

When Sinyard bought out Adams, the company had seven routes, two termite men and 1 1/2 office workers. The company now has 65 employees.

“Right after I bought the company, we had that devastating flood hit,” Sinyard said. “As bad as it was, it turned out to be a blessing for the business. I was able to get a look at the construction of houses from the foundation to the framing. From a business perspective, I was able to get a view of the business that I’d never seen before.”

Sinyard knew he was on the right track when he got a call from former fellow County Commissioner Larry Clark early one Friday evening.

“I was at the office when the phone rang, so I answered it,” Sinyard laughs. “Larry Clark says, ‘I’m glad to hear you answer the phone. If you’re up there at work at 6 o’clock on a Friday night, you’re going to make it.”

As his business expanded, so did Sinyard’s involvement in statewide advocacy. He became president of the nonprofit Georgia Pest Control Association, which passed along information to government agencies considering legislation to regulate the industry.

“I watched Jeff take volatile situations and not be a politician but be a statesman,” Valera Jessee, who is retired now but serves as director of the United Producers, Formulators and Distributors Association, a national pest control industry advocacy organization. “He’s a bridge-builder, and he’s helped our industry grow tremendously.

“Some think of Jeff as a politician, but he’s more a true statesman. We became close friends working together, and he is a man of high character. His family is envied across the state.”

Sinyard is now working to prepare sons Bridges and Stuart to take over the family business. While youngest son Beau is studying for a pharmacy career at the University of Georgia, both older Sinyard siblings chose to return to Albany to work at Adams.

“I never brought (working in Albany) up to them until they brought it up to me,” Sinyard said. “I didn’t want them to feel obligated. I told them that I wanted them to work at other jobs before making a decision, and Bridges did. He worked in Saxby Chambliss’ office in Washington for five years. Stuart, though, said as soon as he graduated that he wanted to work in the business.

“I let them make their own choices, and while I’m just as proud of Beau for choosing to pursue his own dreams, I have to admit it’s the greatest thing in the world to have Bridges and Stuart working here.”

TOMORROW: Politics and beyond.