Rockmart names municipal complex in honor of Ellis
Rockmart’s longtime city manager passed away in January 2021.
A symbol of the work and dedication Jeff Ellis poured into the city of Rockmart now bears his name.
City leaders, friends, colleagues and the family of the longtime Rockmart city manager gathered on a cool April morning last year to officially commemorate Ellis’ life and legacy by officially naming the city’s government complex at 316 N. Piedmont Ave. in honor of its adopted son.
Ellis, who moved to Rockmart with his family in 1968 from Akron, Ohio, died in January 2021 due to complications from COVID-19 at the age of 67. He worked for the city of Rockmart and its residents for four decades, first as fire chief and then in 1996 as its city manager, a position he held until his untimely death.
One of the projects that Ellis oversaw during the mid-2000s was the renovation of the former Rockmart High School campus into the Rockmart Municipal Complex.
Ellis, who graduated from the school in 1971, took the lead in having the city purchase the campus, which had not been in use since 2001, and renovating it to house all of the city’s main administrative offices, as well as the police department, library, recreation department and cultural arts center.
Polk County Commissioner Ray Carter, who served on the Rockmart city council for several years, was one of the speakers at the ceremony, during which the sign of the complex was unveiled to show the complex’s new name — The J.L. Ellis City of Rockmart
Government Complex.
“He poured his heart and soul into what this building meant and how much history was here,” Carter said.
Carter recalled how he had known Ellis since the two worked in law enforcement in the late 1970s. When Ellis came to the city of Rockmart, he helped develop their fire department’s training and equipment program, and went on to train the city’s leaders and take a handson approach to improving Rockmart’s infrastructure.
“He established the parameters for how we moved forward as a county,” Carter said. “Jeff’s hands are all over this city, not just this complex. I miss him as a friend, I miss him as a coworker, and I miss him as a leader.”
Ellis’ daughter, Jennifer Terry, expressed her gratitude on behalf of the family, including her mother, Ginger Ellis, who was married to him for 45 years. And it was fitting that on the grounds of the campus that he graduated from, they were there again to honor him.
Terry joked that they always said her father had three children — her, her brother, Matt Ellis, and the city of Rockmart.
“Any time there was an emergency, once he got our family to safety, he was off to ensure the safety of Rockmart,” Terry said. “Thank you for honoring and continuing the legacy of Jeffery L. Ellis.”
Steve Miller, who worked with Ellis as both a city councilman and mayor, said the renovation and completion of the complex was the crowning achievement of work with the city.
“Rockmart will celebrate 150 years as a city this year, and I dare to say that, while over the last 150 years there
have been some excellent managers as I’m sure there will be moving forward, there will be another one like Jeff Ellis,” Miller said.
State Rep. Trey Kelley read a resolution honoring Ellis’ life and legacy that was adopted in the Georgia House of Representatives shortly
after his death last year. He also presented a copy of the resolution to Ellis’ family.
“Of all of his accomplishments, none brought him more joy than the development of this complex,” Kelley said. “Thank you to his family for sharing Jeff with all of us.”