Amerson running for District 3 school board seat

Gil Pound, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·3 min read

Mar. 19—A new face will be added to the Baldwin County Board of Education following the May 21 nonpartisan election.

Local small business owner Dylan Amerson hopes to be that face. He's running for the District 3 seat currently held by longtime school board member and former Baldwin High School principal Lyn Chandler. Chandler opted not to run for re-election, so his seat is up for grabs with political newcomers Amerson and Beverly Rayford vying to fill it.

If Amerson wins, the 34-year-old would become the youngest representative on the five-person board that sets policy for the local public school system. He would also replace the man who served as his high school principal in Chandler.

A Milledgeville native, Amerson attended Baldwin County public schools from pre-K through high school graduation. He started at what was once Midway Elementary (the one at Highway 441 and Carl Vinson Road), transitioned to Blandy Hills Elementary upon its opening, then went to Oak Hill for middle school before attending Baldwin High where he graduated in 2007.

Amerson first went to Armstrong Atlantic University in Savannah out of high school before returning home due to needing back surgery. He attended Georgia Military College for a time and later finished up his bachelor's degree in outdoor education at Georgia College & State University. His first job out of college was at Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center in Mansfield, Georgia. Work then took him to the Tremont Institute at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, where he was an environmental educator and naturalist for over four years. That's where he met his wife, Kensey, and eventually they, along with their son Sawyer (now 2 1/2) moved to Milledgeville to be closer to their families.

Since April of 2022 they have owned and operated Huff's Market, a store on Highway 49 that has been in Amerson's family for about six decades. Huff's offers local goods and was presented the "Rising Star Award" at last year's Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce awards gala.

Now more established with their business, the couple had discussed ways to get more involved locally.

"Since we moved here, we've been trying to figure out how to build up our local community," Amerson said. "One of the best ways we've talked about is by being civil servants."

Running for the school board was already being weighed as a future possibility when Chandler, the BOE member for Amerson's district and Huff's Market regular, shared that he'd be retiring from the board once his term was up.

"We thought that would be a really impactful way for us to give back to the community," the candidate Amerson said. "Since I graduated from Baldwin County public schools, it seemed to make sense for me to try and run. I'm really invested in education. I want for my son to have a great education and to have all the opportunities I had. Being on the board and having at least a small hand in steering or participating in where education is going in Baldwin County is something I'm incredibly interested in."

Asked what he feels he would bring to the school board, Amerson said a strong belief in the power of education as well as humility. He admits he would have a lot to learn as a newcomer, but also believes he has a lot to offer as a business owner/operator. Amerson added that, if elected, he's looking forward to getting a firsthand look at how the local school system operates.

"I believe every kid deserves a quality education, so I want to do everything I can to continue to make that possible," said Amerson.

The District 3 BOE seat is the only one with a challenger this election cycle. Current school board members Shannon Hill, District 2, and John Jackson, District 4, are both running for re-election unopposed.