Reggie Forrester, the longtime Court Administrator for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit and State Court of Hall County, is retiring effective Dec. 2.
Forrester has held the job for the past 14 years and is also a 30-plus-year Hall County employee, holding a number of positions during his tenure. He was Hall County Administrator from 1995 to 1999, Public Safety Director from 1985 to 1995, District Court Administrator from 1982 to 1985, Correctional Institute Warden from 1979 to 1982, and Investigator for the District Attorney's Office from 1976 to 1977.
Forrester said he's seen a great deal of growth in the court system since he took on the role as administrator on Dec. 2, 2005.
"Fourteen years ago, we only had three treatment courts - that was a drug court, a DUI court and a mental health court. Today, there are more than seven treatment courts, so there's been some phenomenal growth there," Forrester said. "Of course, we've gone from four Superior Court judges to five and from two State Court judges to three."
Forrester described the last 14 years as "wonderful."
"The association with the quality of the judiciary and the judges who hold those positions and the relationship that I was able to develop with them - and them with me - I never had a day that I didn't look forward to going to work," Forrester said.
As far as making a decision to retire, Forrester pointed to two factors. The first was the celebration of his recent 78th birthday.
"The second factor - I wanted to stay with the courts until we finished remodeling of the...courthouse for Juvenile [Court] and Probate [Court] and I wanted to finish the remodeling in the courthouse for the seating of Judge [Clint] Bearden and Judge [Larry] Baldwin, and we accomplished that back in July," Forrester said.
When reflecting on Forrester's service as Court Administrator, Chief Superior Court Judge, Kathlene F. Gosselin said, “ (Reggie) steered us through many changes in court procedures, hard financial times, and led us during a time of unprecedented growth. He will be missed by all of us.”
Superior Court Judge Jason Deal added, “Reggie has been a mentor and confidant, both professional and personally. His guidance, experience, and insight has been invaluable.”
As of Dec.2, Jason Stephenson will take the reins as the new Court Administrator.
For more than four years, Stephenson has held the position of staff attorney to Judge Gosselin. Stephenson graduated from Georgia State Law School and before that worked in various church-related positions, as well as directed a non-profit camp and conference center outside of Atlanta.
“Jason will bring the same sense of service to the courts that Reggie has always displayed," Judge Gosselin said. "His energy, wisdom, and knowledge of the court system will benefit all of us who work within that system.”
