Legal assistant Ella Pettiford announced Thursday that she plans to run for Probate Judge of Tift County.

Pettiford worked for nine years as legal assistant to Attorney Larry B. Mims, who now serves as State Court Judge of Tift County, and is now Mims’ senior administrative assistant. “In my role as legal assistant, I became familiar with typical probate issues, including wills, administration of estates, and guardianships for children under 18 and incapacitated adults, to name a few,” she said.

“I learned the importance of listening to people with a sensitive ear and showing compassion during their time of stress.”

Pettiford said her job requires that she interact with government officials as well as the public, including judges in the Tift Judicial Circuit, the Circuit Court Administrator, the Department of Family and Children’s Services, Clerks of Court and others.

“As Probate Court Judge, I will have a user-friendly, and efficient office, directed to serving people from all walks of life,” said Pettiford. “Any person coming to Probate Court will be met with courtesy, consideration, and competence. I will respect each individual’s time, making sure that cases will be resolved in a timely manner, and that justice will be administered fairly to all people.”

Pettiford and her husband, Arthur, attend Shiloh Baptist Church, where she serves as a Sunday School Teacher, Superintendent of Youth Sunday School and President of the Missionary Society. Her community activities include serving on the board of PLIGHT, Inc., volunteering as a tutor to students, and serving on the board of Arts in Black. Arthur, a retiree from Georgia Power Company, is a Sunday School teacher and deacon. He serves on the Tift County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.

The Pettifords have four children, Brian, Isaac, Tasha and Lynn, and two grandchildren. Their son, Minister Isaac Ross and his wife Tasha, live in Tift County, where they both teach in the Tift County School System. Her sister, Alice Archie, is a nurse in the ICU unit of Tift Regional Medical Center, where she has been employed for more 40 years.

Pettiford is a graduate of Tift County schools and obtained an associate’s degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a B. S. degree from Georgia Southwestern State University.

To contact Managing Editor Florence Rankin, call 382-4321, ext. 203.