JAMES R. JOLLY

Regent, University System of Georgia & Chairman of the Board, J&J Industries

Appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue in November 2003, to represent Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, Jim Jolly is Chairman of the Board of J&J Industries, Inc., a carpet-manufacturing firm he joined in 1967 and served until his retirement 40 years later.

Regent Jolly, a native of Dalton, is extensively involved in the community having served as a charter member of the board of directors of the Dalton-Whitfield Boys and Girls Club and of Leadership Dalton.   Jolly is a past Chairman of the local Governmental Study Task Force Committee, the local United Way campaign, the Dalton Junior College Foundation and the Carpet and Rug Institute.  He is a former member of the executive board of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Tech Alumni Trustees, the Northwest Georgia Regional Advisory council, the Georgia Cities Foundation Board, and the Hamilton Medical Center Board. 

Jolly currently chairs the Covenant College Board of Trustees and serves on the Covenant College Foundation and the Dalton State College Foundation Executive Committee.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree in textiles from the Georgia Institute of Technology and served two years as an officer in the U.S. Army. Jolly resides in Dalton with his wife Judy, where they are members of Grace Presbyterian Church.