Special to The Post-Searchlight

At its November board meeting in Eufaula, Ala., the Historic Chattahoochee Commission (HCC) appointed Clayton Penhallegon, of Bainbridge, as its Decatur County board representative. Penhallegon fills the board slot formerly held by longtime board member, Mrs. Oline Reynolds.

Penhallegon brings a commitment to community-minded organizations to the HCC board.  He has held leadership positions in the Bainbridge United Way, Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary Club, and served on the boards of the Decatur County Historical Society, Arts Council, Habitat for Humanity, and St. John’s Episcopal Church. He currently serves on the Decatur County Board of Equalization and the Bainbridge Historic Preservation Commission.

Penhallegon has a longstanding association with the Chattahoochee Valley, being a native of Bainbridge and a descendant of John Fontaine, the first mayor of the city of Columbus. He is a graduate of both Auburn University and the University of Georgia. Following service as an officer in the U.S. Navy, Penhallegon embarked on a business career which allowed him to work in many areas of the state of Georgia with several leading manufacturing enterprises. Retired, he currently lives in Bainbridge with his wife, Berryman.

The HCC is a state agency of Alabama and Georgia charged with promoting heritage tourism, history education and historic preservation in the lower Chattahoochee Valley. The Commission is governed by a 28 member board of directors who represent the 18-county Chattahoochee Trace region that it serves.