Special to the Herald
My name is Walt Lawson and I am running for Clerk of Superior Court in the May 21 Republican primary here in Effingham County. An Effingham native, I have devoted my life to serving its citizens. My parents, Walter and Roseann Lawson, raised my siblings and me in Guyton where we grew up and graduated from Effingham County High School.
Our parents are a big reason for me being the man I am today. They set an example of what it means to work hard while putting God and family first. ECHS is where I met, and later married, my high school sweetheart, April Morgan. April is the daughter of Clarence and Pam Morgan who have also played a huge role in my life. Mr. Clarence spent 50+ years giving back to Effingham County, most notably our youth, while Mrs. Pam was always in his corner supporting him. April and I have two boys, Tyler (13) who attends and plays sports at ECMS and Morgan (8) attends Springfield Elementary and loves baseball. Morgan will actually turn nine on Election Day! We are members of, and attend, Pine Street Baptist Church in Guyton. In our free time we love attending our boys’ sporting events, anything outdoors, college football, and hanging out with friends and family.
I would like to tell you about my professional background. Upon graduating college, I was fortunate to be able to start my career with the Effingham County Board of Education where I was an I.T. support specialist for nine years. In my role, I was assigned multiple locations and was responsible to see that they were able to function in their day-to-day duties. This included hardware/software support and training, records management, and any other needs that fell within my scope. After nine years with the ECSD I accepted a similar role with the Effingham County Board of Commissioners where I worked with the commissioner’s office, courts, and other departments throughout the county in a support role.
After a year, Sheriff McDuffie called and asked me to transfer to the Sheriff’s office as I.T. Admin. where I have proudly been since. In this role I am responsible for in-office support where I see that each user can work and perform their duties on a daily basis while using the equipment needed. I perform the same duties for our men and women on the front lines while out on patrol. This includes hardware/software support and training as well as records management. I also became a certified LEO in 2015 and have proudly served in that role since.
I tell you all of these things in hopes that you would trust me to be your next clerk of superior court. With my extensive background, I truly believe I can successfully lead our county into the future. As a lifelong resident, I do not consider myself a politician. I’m just a kid who was push mowing yards in Guyton at 12 years old; a kid who bagged groceries at Thompson’s IGA at 15; and a man who loves his community and wants to give back while raising his own family in the place he has always called home.
[Editor’s note: Candidates for political offices in the May 21 primary are welcome to send their initial introductory article – up to 500 words – with a clear color photo (head shot preferred) to the Effingham Herald. Send article and photo to baugsdorfer@effinghamherald.net. If you desire more coverage for your campaign, feel free to reach out to the Herald’s multimedia sales executives, Christy Sanders or Laurel Pate at 912-826-5012.]
