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Larry Hanson
Valdosta City Manager
The 23d Wing provides the Department of Defense’s only dedicated combat search and rescue capability through the employment of HC-130J Combat King IIs, HH-60G Pave Hawks, and Guardian Angels.
The 93d Air Ground Operations Wing operates as the broker between joint combat forces and the integration of air power capabilities.
“Moody has a profound economic impact on the Valdosta-MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), which includes the counties of Brooks, Echols, Lanier, and Lowndes, as
well as Berrien and Cook counties,” said Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson. “Over 99 percent of Moody’s personnel lives in these six counties. Moody’s economic impact accounts for nearly 8 percent of the six counties’ gross regional
product.”
With a total annual economic impact of more than $430 million, Moody supports approximately 3,000 civilian jobs in the regional area.
“In Lowndes County alone, 11
percent of the population is directly associated with Moody,” said Hanson. “The economic activity of Moody annually generates $22 million in state income and local property tax revenue alone.”
Over the years, a supportive working relationship between local governments and Moody has proven bene cial.
In the early 1990s, Moody’s presence in South Georgia was in jeopardy when it was placed on the Base Realignment and Closure
(BRAC) list. Local chambers of commerce, county and city governments, and
the business community understood the devastating economic impact if Moody was closed.
As was in the beginning, it was community leaders and residents that took the lead in protecting Moody from closing. The Moody Support
Committee was formed and included several
retired Air Force o cers—Brig. Gen.
Troy Tolbert,
Col. Joe Prater, and Col. Bob Ator. The committee also included former Valdosta Mayor and retired Marine helicopter pilot Walter Gill Autrey Jr., along with Parker Greene, one of Moody’s longest-serving advocates and supporters.
The leaders not only had to prove that Moody was a major economic generator but also that the community would provide support wherever necessary.
Hanson said the Moody Support Committee, which is now led by Greene and his wife, Dr. Lucy Greene,
12 SG MAGAZINE | SPRING 2017 12 SG MAGAZINE | SPRING 2017
PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED