Attorney Orr named to Common Cause Georgia board

Wyc Orr, senior partner of Orr Brown Johnson LLP of Gainesville, has been named a board member of Common Cause Georgia, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Common Cause Georgia is the Georgia affiliate of the national organization Common Cause. The organization works to hold public officials and institutions accountable and responsive to citizens. Common Cause Georgia has more than 3,000 members and supporters across Georgia.

Orr is a trial lawyer for more than 40 years. He represented Hall and Dawson counties and a portion of Gwinnett County in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1989 until 1993.

He also served as a charter member of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council and earlier as chairman of the Georgia Indigent Defense Council. He has careerlong extensive involvement with the State Bar of Georgia, local bar activities and in a host of civic and charitable organizations.

White County native earns DOT promotion

The Georgia Department of Transportation has promoted White County resident Billy Cantrell to Assistant District Engineer for the Northeast Georgia’s District One.

Cantrell began his career with DOT in 1985 and has worked in the offices of construction, preconstruction, traffic operations, utilities and maintenance.

He became Area Engineer in 2010 focusing on Lumpkin, Towns, Union and White counties. Early in 2011 he returned to the District Maintenance Office as Assistant District Maintenance Engineer.

Last December, Cantrell was named District Maintenance Engineer. He is responsible for more than 300 employees and the ongoing maintenance and emergency maintenance of over 2,500 centerline miles of interstates and state routes in District One.

Cantrell assumes Assistant District Engineer duties while remaining District Maintenance Engineer. His new duties began June 1.

“Billy has experience in every phase of our work. He is truly an asset to DOT and will help the Department serve Northeast Georgia well,” DOT Transportation District Engineer Bayne Smith said.

Cantrell lives in White County with his wife, Carla, and two children.