Mayor, 2 council members take oaths

Oaths of office were given on Jan. 6 to Kennesaw Mayor Derek Easterling, Post 1 Councilman James Eaton and Post 2 Councilwoman Tracey Viars.

All reelected in November to serve four-year terms, they were administered their oaths by District 34 State Rep. Bert Reeves (R-Marietta).

By his fellow Council members, Post 3 Councilman Pat Ferris was elected mayor pro tem to serve as mayor in case of Easterling’s absence; this is his second time as mayor pro tem, after he was elected while serving on the City Council from 1985 to 2001. A 1979 graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in business management, Ferris is the business development manager of Brintons U. S. Axminster.

A former lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, Easterling also is a former Cobb County deputy sheriff. With a bachelor of science degree in sports management and a master of education degree in secondary education in history, Easterling is a teacher at Awtrey Middle School.

Viars owns Creative Results, Inc., specializing in image and visibility marketing and working with a variety of clients through creative strategy, marketing and promotion. Viars earned a bachelor of business administration degree, with a concentration in marketing, from Georgia State University in 1988 and a master of arts in English degree from Kennesaw State in 2004 with a concentration in professional writing.

Eaton obtained his bachelor of science degree from Southeast Missouri State University. Later Eaton attended chiropractic school and opened a private practice in Kennesaw in 1993. His chiropractic practice is now run by his daughter and former Kennesaw Councilwoman Cris Eaton-Welsh.