Two Hall County residents are hoping the intersection in front of New Holland Baptist Church will one day bear the name of one of its longtime pastors, the Rev. Henry Grady Jarrard.

Broadus Duncan and Sandra Deal have asked the Hall County Board of Commissioners to support naming the intersection of Jesse Jewell Parkway and Quarry Street in honor of Jarrard, who also served for many years as the superintendent of Hall County schools.

Because Jesse Jewell Parkway is a state road, receiving the honorary designation requires not only local but state approval.

Duncan said though he only met Jarrard near the end of his life, he was inspired by his legacy in the community.

"He had been such a great influence to the people of that New Holland community as pastor of the church and also he had a great influence on the young people of the county by being the county school superintendent," Duncan said. "He sacrificed so much of himself for other people."

Lee Lovett, deputy superintendent of Hall County schools, said Jarrard was involved in consolidating all of Hall County’s schools in the 1950s.

"Back in the days when he was superintendent, they had several high schools. ... Every little town had a high school and your larger communities too," Lovett said. "They opened up three new high schools, North Hall High, East Hall High and South Hall High and they closed these smaller schools."

Hall County Administrator Charley Nix attended New Holland Baptist Church as a child while Jarrard was the pastor.

"To me as a young kid he seemed like a larger-than-life figure," Nix said. "He had a great deal of influence in my younger years."

Nix said he thinks naming the intersection in front of the church would be a fitting memorial.

"Sometimes you have extraordinary people who do a lot of good for their communities," Nix said. "His influence extended well beyond New Holland."