--- title: HR 597. Barton, Irene; receiving the 2025 Yellow Rose Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr597 cite_as: HR 597, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr597 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr597.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr597/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71366 date: 2025-03-13 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr596.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr598.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr597.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 597 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-03-13 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Lisa Campbell - Terry Cummings - Stacey Evans - Sheila Jones - Mary Williams - Sharon Cooper text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR597/2025 upstream_id: 2006956 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - ceremonial resolution - Cobb County - women's leadership award - community service recognition --- # HR 597. Barton, Irene; receiving the 2025 Yellow Rose Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award; commend ## Text 25 LC 112 3356 House Resolution 597 By: Representatives Campbell of the 35th, Cummings of the 39th, Evans of the 57th, Jones of the 60th, Williams of the 37th, and others A RESOLUTION Congratulating and commending Irene Barton for receiving the 2025 Yellow Rose Nikki T.1 Randall Servant Leader Award; and for other purposes.2 WHEREAS, in 1999, Representative Nikki T. Randall became the fi rst African American3 female elected to the General Assembly from middle Georgia, and during her 17 years of4 service as a legislator, she held numerous leadership positions, including chair of the Georgia5 Legislative Women's Caucus; and6 WHEREAS, every year during Women's History Month, the Georgia Legislative Women's7 Caucus recognizes outstanding women in Georgia who exemplify th e leadership and8 inspiration embodied by Representative Randall; and9 WHEREAS, Irene Barton, a dedicated Cobb County resident and ins piring leader, was10 named the Executive Director of the Cobb Collaborative in September 2018 after serving as11 the organization's Resource Manager since July 2017. Under Iren e's leadership, the12 Collaborative leads the local coalition for Resilient Georgia a nd serves as the backbone13 agency for The Basics Cobb County, an evidence-based early learning framework; and14 H. R. 597 - 1 - 25 LC 112 3356 WHEREAS, Irene is a member of the East Cobb Civitans and is the immediate Past15 President. She currently serves on the boards of the McCleskey YMCA and the South Cobb16 Business Association. In 2022, she was named a Woman of Achieve ment by LiveSafe17 Resources. Irene was selected as a member of the 2021 Regional Leadership Institute Class18 and was an Education Policy Fellow for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education19 in 2017; and20 WHEREAS, Irene was named the Jack A. Vaughan Jr. Human Services Award Winner in21 the Volunteer Category by the Cobb Collaborative in November 20 15. Most recently, she22 was named the East Cobb Citizen of the Year by the Cobb Chamber. She is an alumna of the23 Cobb Chamber's Honorary Commanders and Leadership Cobb programs; and24 WHEREAS, prior to joining the Collaborative, Irene held numerou s volunteer leadership25 positions with Georgia PTA at the local, district, and state le vels and served on several26 nonprofit boards in a variety of positions, including as Board Chair; and27 WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this28 servant leader be appropriately recognized.29 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that30 the members of this body congratulate and commend Irene Barton for receiving the 202531 Yellow Rose Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award and extend be st wishes for her32 continued success.33 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized34 and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to Irene35 Barton, the public, and the press.36 H. R. 597 - 2 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution formally congratulates Cobb County leader Irene Barton for receiving the 2025 Yellow Rose Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award and honors her community service. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives. It does not change any law. Instead, it recognizes Irene Barton, the Executive Director of the Cobb Collaborative, for receiving the 2025 Yellow Rose Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award, an honor given each year during Women's History Month by the Georgia Legislative Women's Caucus. The resolution describes Barton's work leading the Cobb Collaborative, her role with Resilient Georgia and The Basics Cobb County early learning program, and her volunteer service with groups like the East Cobb Civitans, the McCleskey YMCA, and Georgia PTA. It directs the Clerk of the House to prepare copies of the resolution for Barton, the public, and the press. ### What it does - Formally congratulates and commends Irene Barton for receiving the 2025 Yellow Rose Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award. - Recites Barton's professional background as Executive Director of the Cobb Collaborative and her leadership roles in local early childhood initiatives. - Lists Barton's volunteer service and honors, including work with the East Cobb Civitans, McCleskey YMCA, and Georgia PTA. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute copies of the resolution to Barton, the public, and the press. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names and honors Irene Barton, a Cobb County nonprofit leader. It also references the Georgia Legislative Women's Caucus, the Cobb Collaborative, and the Clerk of the House, who is tasked with distributing copies of the resolution. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal effect and changes no Georgia law; its impact is symbolic recognition of a community leader's service, formally entered into the House's record and shared with the public and press. ### Key provisions - Whereas clauses describe the history of the Yellow Rose Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award and Representative Randall's legislative career. - Whereas clauses detail Irene Barton's role at the Cobb Collaborative and her involvement with Resilient Georgia and The Basics Cobb County. - The resolving clause has the House congratulate and commend Barton for receiving the award and wish her continued success. - A final clause directs the Clerk of the House to prepare copies of the resolution for distribution to Barton, the public, and the press. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-03-13) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2025-03-13) - Sponsors: Lisa Campbell, Terry Cummings, Stacey Evans, Sheila Jones, Mary Williams, Sharon Cooper - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71366 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr597.md?full=1