A love of law, animals and travel:
A look at Floyd County’s new county attorney
Attorney Virginia Harmon made Floyd County history Tuesday when she was appointed as the first female Floyd County Attorney by county commissioners.
This was something she hadn’t realized until a little before the meeting.
“It hadn’t really crossed my mind at that point, but when it did, I thought it was a neat thing,” she said. “You’re talking about 186 or seven years so it was a long time coming.”
After Wade Hoyt III resigned, County Manager Jamie McCord and Floyd County Commission Chair Scotty Hancock approached Harman to see if she would be interested in being interim attorney. She replied “absolutely” and said she believes in serving the community.
Harman has been serving the Northwest Georgia community as a lawyer for over quite some time, starting as an assistant district attorney in the Lookout Mountain circuit. She eventually came to Rome and worked for the former law firm Hine and Carroll with her fellow law student and now Floyd County Superior Court Judge Jack Niedrach.
In 1991, she joined the McRae, Smith and Peek law firm and has been with them ever since.
Following the meeting where she was hired as interim attorney, the county offered her the permanent position, which she gratefully accepted.
“The Hoyt family has made a huge difference in Rome and Floyd County, so he leaves big shoes to fill,” Harman said.
As county attorney, she covers all legal things concerning the county.
“The commission is technically my boss, but the county is my client,” she said.
Some of the issues she handles is real estate, contracts, representing the county in
prisoner complaints and employment issues.
“Although I’m a litigator, I kind of moved from litigating disputes to keeping clients from ever having to go to that,” she said.
Harman was married to Tracy Harman for almost 40 years until he passed away two years ago. She has two daughters and a son, as well as a 7-year-old granddaughter and a 10-year-old grandson.
One of Harman’s biggest passions in life is animal rescue. She works with Floyd County commissioner Allison Watters in the North Georgia Animal Partnership, where she handles the transportation of rescue dogs and cats from different rescues. She’s transported animals as far north as Kentucky and as far south as Florida. At home, she was many rescue animals, including four dogs and four horses, as well as many cats.
She also loves to travel and has been to places all around the globe, including Australia and Zimbabwe. Just before the pandemic hit the United States, she visited Turkey and Egypt, where she got the chance to ride a camel up to the Great Pyramid of Giza.