Oaths of office were given on Jan. 6 to Kennesaw Mayor Derek Easterling, Post 1 Councilman James Eaton and Post 2 Councilwoman Tracey Viars.
All reelected in November to serve four-year terms, they were administered their oaths by District 34 State Rep. Bert Reeves (R-Marietta).
By his fellow Council members, Post 3 Councilman Pat Ferris was elected mayor pro tem to serve as mayor in case of Easterling’s absence - his second time as mayor pro tem when he was elected while serving on the City Council from 1985 to 2001.
A 1979 graduate of The University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Ferris is the business development manager of Brintons U. S. Axminster.
A former lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, Easterling also is a former Cobb County deputy sheriff.
With a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management and a Master of Education degree in Secondary Education in History, now Easterling is a teacher at Awtrey Middle School.
Self-employed since 1995, Viars owns Creative Results, Inc., specializing in image and visibility marketing and working with a variety of clients through creative strategy, marketing and promotion.
Viars earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with a concentration in marketing, from Georgia State University in 1988 and a Master of Arts in English degree from Kennesaw State University in 2004 with a concentration in professional writing.
Eaton obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Southeast Missouri State University.
Later Eaton attended chiropractor school and opened a private practice in Kennesaw in 1993.
Moving his chiropractic practice to its present location in 2000, now the practice is run by his daughter and former Kennesaw Councilwoman Cris Eaton-Welsh.
