Commissioners learn Air Force contracting, hear updates from Public Library System

PERRY — The Houston County Commissioners heard from Colonel Jefferey Peske during their first September meeting on Sept. 2.

Peske grew up in Iowa and said he joined the Air Force to see the world and was quickly stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1990. 

“I deployed during the first Desert Storm, spent four years enlisted and I actually got out and went to the University of Nebraska and then I was commissioned to the Air Force,” Peske said. “ My first duty station as an officer was Moody Air Force Base down in Valdosta.”

Peske said his career began in Georgia and hopes it will end in Georgia as well. His time in the Air Force has taken him all over the world, as he has visited 10 duty stations throughout his career. 

Peske is currently the Director of Contracting for the United States Air Force Sustainment Center at Robins Air Force Base and has been in the role for three years. His unit consists of about 500 employees and contract professionals who work in the Sustainment Center and the Life Cycle Management Center. 

“We actually spend your taxpayer dollars and spend over six to seven billion a year going out of Robins Air Force Base, and then we manage around $115 billion in contracts just in Robins,” he said. “We do a lot of aircraft refurbishments [including] the C-5s, C-17s and F-15s.” 

Along with supporting the Air Logistics Center, Peske said his unit also supports the Wing Commander at Robins and various aspects within the base. He described it as a mini-city.  

“So we [contract] all the roads, buildings, ground maintenance, refuse, recycling, custodial and all those types of services that you can name we have within the city as well,” he said. 

Even though Peske is from the Midwest, Georgia has a special place in his heart. 

“Even though I am Midwestern born and raised, I really consider Georgia home,” he said. 

Peske also mentioned that Commissioner Tal Talton is his Honorary Commander with the base’s Honorary Commander Program. 

“[The program] connects U.S. leaders and U.S. Commanders with people in the community,” he said. “They’re able to come and see the base, see what we do and how we operate, so it’s a pretty neat thing.” 

Commissioners shared words of appreciation towards Col. Peske. 

“I appreciate all that you do as you’re stewarding a whole bunch of resources from the taxpayers of our United States, so thanks for everything you do,” Commissioner Shane Gottwalls said. “You focus on our defense so we can focus on our freedoms, so we just can’t thank you enough for that.” 

Chairman Dan Perdue hopes Peske stays in this community, as the county has a lot of military retirees. 

“I tell a lot of our [military] speakers that my number one hope for them is that they would go back home wherever that is, but if they don’t have a home, that they would make [Houston County] their home,” he said. 

The Board also heard a presentation from Judith Malone of the Houston County Public Library System. Malone will be the next Library Director, following in the footsteps of Sarah Paulk, who will be retiring at the end of the month. Her presentation consisted of recapping how the library fared during FY25. 

Malone has been in the library systems for about 20 years and is currently the Branch Manager of the Miller Brantley Memorial Library. 

“On Oct. 1, I will be in Perry to take over for Mrs. Paulk who has been a wonderful director and a really good leader in our community,” Malone said. 

In the annual report, Malone highlighted the Houston County Friends of the Library, which is a huge book sale at the Perry branch. 

“This year, they were able to raise $45,000 from their proceeds,” she said. “All the books that you buy, thank you, they come to us and we buy more books.” 

Malone also mentioned the success of the Vacation Reading Program. According to their report, there were 2,728 participants and over 59,000 books read during the Vacation Reading Program. 

Overall, the Houston County Public Library System’s value of services totaled $8,502,123.19. 

In new business, the Board approved a few Special Exception Applications. The Board approved two residential cleaning businesses, a heating and air conditioning business and a custom wood picture business. The Board denied a food truck business due to the non-compliance with the county’s comprehensive land development regulations. 

The next Houston County Commissioner meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the Houston County Annex. The full agenda of this meeting can be found at www.houstoncountyga.gov/minutes/2025-09-02%20Department%20Head%20Copy.pdf