Description
Dr. Philip Lee Secrist was the chair of the Cobb County Commission from 1988 to 1992. After receiving an M.S. in Education Administration from Auburn University in 1955, he moved to the Atlanta area to teach high school. Dr. Secrist also taught History at Southern Technical Institute (later Southern Polytechnic State University) periodically from 1970 to 1984. In 1972 he earned an Ed.D. degree from the University of Georgia.
During the 1970s, Dr. Secrist started a historic preservation business with his wife, Kay, renovating a number of properties in Kingston and Marietta. The Secrists were on the founding board of the Cobb Landmarks Society when it was chartered in 1974. He was also an original member of the Cobb County Historic Preservation Commission, appointed in 1985 by Cobb County Commission chair Earl Smith. In 1988, Secrist ran against and defeated Smith for commission chair. During his four-year term as chair, the Cobb County Transit program began. After his term ended, Dr. Secrist taught military history courses for several years in the Department of History & Philosophy at Kennesaw State University. He also wrote a book on the Civil War battle of Resaca and served on the Georgia Civil War Commission. Dr. Secrist died in 2008. His papers are held by the Kennesaw State University Archives.
Citation
Interview with Philip Lee Secrist, 2001-12-26, Cobb County oral history series, Kennesaw State University Oral History Project, 1973- , KSU/45/05/001, Kennesaw State University Archives.
Rights
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Identifier
ksu-45-05-001-01084
