The main Oath of Office Ceremony for Bulloch County’s officials newly elected or re-elected to new terms will be held Monday, Dec. 30, at 10 a.m. on the second floor of the historic Bulloch County Courthouse, 2 North Main St., with Bulloch County Probate Judge Lorna DeLoach officiating.

But first, Judge DeLoach and two other judges were set to be sworn in 10 days earlier, at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 20, in a brief ceremony in Courtroom A at the Judicial Annex.

There, Judge F. Gates Peed, set to retire in 11 days from active service as chief judge of the Ogeechee Circuit Superior Courts, will administer the oath of office to DeLoach for her next four-year term before she, in turn, administers the oaths of office to Superior Court Judges Lovett Bennett Jr. and Michael T. Muldrew. These judges and Superior Court Judge Ronald K. Thompson were re-elected without opposition, but Thompson is formally assigned to Effingham County for his swearing-in, DeLoach said.

Still, the main event here will be the one at 10 a.m. Dec. 30 in the historic Bulloch County Courthouse. Those to be sworn-in will not only include officials elected this year for the first time – such as Bulloch County commissioners Chairman-elect David Bennett, Commissioner-elect Nick Newkirk, Commissioner Ray Davis and Coroner-Elect Charles R. “Chuck” Francis – but also returning, re-elected officials such as Sheriff Noel Brown and Commissioner Ray Mosley.

All will be sworn in for their 2025-2028 terms. Although he took the oath in late October to complete the unexpired term of former Commissioner Curt Deal, Davis will be sworn in again for the new term, DeLoach said.

She is slated to swear in Superior Court Judge-elect Matt Hube around 9:30 a.m. Dec. 30 in the Probate Court office but indicated that Hube may also have a private ceremony with Peed – whom he succeeds on the bench after running unopposed – at the Superior Court.

Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney-elect Robert Busbee will also be sworn-in locally.

A reception for the elected officials and their families is scheduled to follow the Dec. 30 ceremony but will be held across the street in the Judicial Annex Jury Assembly Room.