--- title: SR 929. Georgia Forestry Commission's Telfair/Wheeler County Unit and the Emanuel/Candler Unit; recognize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr929 cite_as: SR 929, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr929 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr929.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr929/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73943 date: 2026-03-09 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 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/sr928.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr930.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr929.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 929 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-09 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Max Burns - Lee Anderson - Blake Tillery - Sam Watson - Russ Goodman - Jaha Howard - Nikki Merritt - Carden Summers - Emanuel Jones - Drew Echols - Gail Davenport - RaShaun Kemp - Steven McNeel - Bo Hatchett - Jason Anavitarte - Nabilah Islam Parkes - Marty Harbin - Jason T. Dickerson text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR929/2025 upstream_id: 2130704 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - forestry - wildfire prevention - legislative resolution - community engagement - Georgia Forestry Commission --- # SR 929. Georgia Forestry Commission's Telfair/Wheeler County Unit and the Emanuel/Candler Unit; recognize ## Text Senate Resolution 929 By: Senators Burns of the 23rd, Anderson of the 24th, Tillery of the 19th, Watson of the 11th, Goodman of the 8th and others A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending the Georgia Forestry Commission's Telfair/Wheeler County Unit on being named the 2025 Unit of the Year for Service; the Emanuel/Candler Unit on being named the 2025 Unit of the Year for Community Engagement; Will Dale for being named the 2025 Wildland Firefighter of the Year; and Matthew O'Connor for being named the 2025 Forester of the Year; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the Georgia Forestry Commission plays a critical role in protecting Georgia's natural resources, ensuring public safety, and supporting the citizens and landowners of this state through wildfire prevention and suppression, emergency response, forest management, and community assistance; and WHEREAS, due to the outstanding accomplishments of the Telfair/Wheeler County Unit in serving landowners through firebreak plowing, prescribed burn assists, and other services as well as the Emanuel/Candler County Unit in engaging their communities through Smokey Bear programs, educational programs, and other outreach events, these units were selected as the Georgia Forestry Commission's 2025 Unit of the Year for Service and Unit of the Year for Community Engagement respectively; and WHEREAS, due to his outstanding accomplishments in all areas of wildfire mitigation and suppression in the year 2025, Will Dale was selected as the Georgia Forestry Commission's 2025 Wildland Firefighter of the Year; and WHEREAS, due to his outstanding accomplishments in all areas of forest management in the year 2025, Matthew O'Connor was selected as the Georgia Forestry Commission's 2025 Forester of the Year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body recognize and commend the Telfair/Wheeler County Unit, the Emanuel/Candler Unit, Will Dale, and Matthew O'Connor upon being named the Georgia Forestry Commission's 2025 Unit of the Year for Service, 2025 Unit of the Year for Community Engagement, 2025 Wildland Firefighter of the Year, and 2025 Forester of the Year respectively. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the press. ## 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 Senate resolution honors two Georgia Forestry Commission units and two individuals for their 2025 achievements in wildfire service and forest management. ### Plain-language summary This Senate resolution recognizes several award winners from the Georgia Forestry Commission for the year 2025. It commends the Telfair/Wheeler County Unit for being named Unit of the Year for Service, citing its work helping landowners with firebreak plowing and prescribed burn assists. It also commends the Emanuel/Candler Unit for being named Unit of the Year for Community Engagement, based on its Smokey Bear programs and other community outreach. The resolution further recognizes Will Dale as the 2025 Wildland Firefighter of the Year for his work in wildfire mitigation and suppression, and Matthew O'Connor as the 2025 Forester of the Year for his work in forest management. The Senate directs its Secretary to make copies of the resolution available to the public and the press. The resolution does not change any Georgia law. ### What it does - Formally commends the Georgia Forestry Commission's Telfair/Wheeler County Unit for being named 2025 Unit of the Year for Service. - Formally commends the Emanuel/Candler Unit for being named 2025 Unit of the Year for Community Engagement. - Recognizes Will Dale as the Georgia Forestry Commission's 2025 Wildland Firefighter of the Year. - Recognizes Matthew O'Connor as the Georgia Forestry Commission's 2025 Forester of the Year. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. ### Who it affects This resolution directly names the Georgia Forestry Commission's Telfair/Wheeler County Unit, the Emanuel/Candler Unit, and staff members Will Dale and Matthew O'Connor. It also involves the Secretary of the Senate, who must distribute copies of the resolution. ### Why it matters The resolution carries symbolic and ceremonial weight rather than legal effect. It publicly acknowledges the work of specific Georgia Forestry Commission units and employees in wildfire prevention, community outreach, and forest management, but it does not create new programs, funding, or legal requirements. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses describe the Georgia Forestry Commission's role in wildfire prevention, emergency response, forest management, and community assistance. - The resolved clause formally recognizes and commends the two units and two individuals for their specific 2025 award titles. - The final clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-09) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2026-03-09) - Sponsors: Max Burns, Lee Anderson, Blake Tillery, Sam Watson, Russ Goodman, Jaha Howard, Nikki Merritt, Carden Summers, Emanuel Jones, Drew Echols, Gail Davenport, RaShaun Kemp, Steven McNeel, Bo Hatchett, Jason Anavitarte, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Marty Harbin, Jason T. Dickerson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73943 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr929.md?full=1