State Sen. Billy Hickman, ceremonially sworn-in Friday morning to succeed the late Sen. Jack Hill in representing District 4, is having conversations with city and county officials throughout the district, asking what projects Hill was working on for them.

“The first thing that I want to do is make sure that I continue honoring Jack Hill…. I actually started Tuesday,” Hickman said at the ceremony. “I’m going to go around and meet with every city and county – the city managers and the mayors and the county managers and the chairmen of the county commissioners – and I want to know what project Jack Hill was working on for y’all. I’ve got to know that.”

Both in his speech after taking the oath of office at 11:30 a.m. in front of the Bulloch County Annex and in an interview a little earlier Friday morning, Hickman said that following through on Hill’s legacy in this way will be his first priority. Hill, who died unexpectedly April 6, had represented District 4, which now encompasses Bulloch, Candler, Evans and Effingham counties and parts of Emanuel and Tattnall counties, for more than 29 years.

Hickman noted that he had already met with the mayor of Reidsville on Thursday and with Bulloch County officials earlier this week. Reidsville, in Tattnall County, was Hill’s hometown, and Hickman is a lifelong Bulloch resident.

Jobs vs. poverty

Before the Georgia General Assembly convenes in January, Hickman’s second initiative, he said, will be seeking input from a broader representation of the leadership in the six counties for ideas on reducing poverty. He wants to hold an “informal retreat” with city council members, county commissioners, school board members and industrial development authority members in each community.

“I want them to tell us how we can help their communities grow,” he said. “I want to ask them about the double-digit poverty rates that we’ve got in every county in our district … anywhere from 10% to 29.7%. That  means one  in 10 people in one  county and one  in three people in other counties are poverty-level or below.”

“I want to ask them if they’re satisfied with the per-capita income in their county being way below the state average,” he said.

Hickman quoted a statewide average per capita income of $46,000 and said that the highest among District 4 counties is $41,000 while the lowest is $28,000.

“I also want to ask them if they’re satisfied with the fact that our population base is diminishing,” he said. “We’ve got four of our six counties that are either losing population or stagnant. How are we going to get out of that? We’re going to create jobs; we’re going to create good-paying jobs; we’re going to create jobs that people will be proud of so that our children will stay in the district.”

During his campaign, Hickman spoke of “a three-legged stool” for economic development, including transportation, education and health care. The district has great educational institutions and transportation resources, but struggling rural hospitals in the district need to be protected, he says.

Friday, Hickman added “a fourth leg” to the stool, broadband wireless internet access.

“We’ve learned through this situation with education that we have got to make a strong effort to expand broadband throughout the district,” he said.

Hickman, now 67, grew up in relative poverty and never lived in a house that had indoor plumbing until he was 11, he said during campaign events.

“Throughout the district, when I mention that story, a lot of people tell me they grew up the same way, but that gives me a lot of empathy for people and that gives me a lot of want to help people,” he told the Statesboro Herald. “I love this district, I love this area, and I just want our people to have opportunities.”

Hickman attained his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Georgia Southern, then College, in 1972 and became a certified public accountant. He has worked 45 years with the firm that is now Dabbs, Hickman, Hill & Cannon, where he has been a partner since 1983.

Toward his church

More than 150 people gathered on the lawn in front of the County Annex, which faces Hickman’s home church, First Baptist Church Statesboro. A reception was held afterward at the church’s Perry Fellowship Hall.

First Baptist Lead Pastor John Waters gave the opening remarks and led prayers during the ceremony. Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael Boggs, a graduate of Georgia Southern University, administered the oath of office. Hickman’s wife, Jo Ann, held the Bible, and some other family members attended.

Friday’s swearing-in was ceremonial, and Hickman will complete the official process of becoming a state senator next week in Atlanta, Waters explained.

Facing his church across North Main Street, Hickman began his remarks by reciting Psalm 23.

He also expressed his religious faith as he talked about crisscrossing the district repeatedly during a four-month campaign.

“We probably went thousands of miles through this district, and we never changed our platform. From day one we said, ‘pro-God, pro-life and pro-Second Amendment,’ never changed it, and thank the Lord, the Lord saw us through it,” Hickman said.

He added that he always asked voters first to pray for him, then to vote for him, “and I think the secret of our campaign was prayers, prayers, prayers.”