Cathy

Cox, Georgia's secretary of state, recently

challenged local young women to "take

advantage of the opportunities your ancestors

left at your feet" and "begin setting

goals now with your education."

The

first woman in Georgia history to hold the

office, Cox addressed about a dozen cadette and

senior Girl Scouts meeting recently in Peachtree

City.

The

girls from Fayette, Coweta, Clayton, Carroll and

Henry counties participated in a day-long seminar

focusing on public service. A workbook provided

scouts to women, starting with the suffragists,

who have made it possible for them to seek

leadership roles in government.

Cox

said she was bitten by the political bug at age

14. She participated in the YMCA Youth Assembly,

the Youth Legislature and decided, "I wanted

to do the real thing."

"I

learned what was going on in politics from my

father," Cox said, explaining how he served

as the mayor of Bainbridge for 16 years and

represented southwest Georgia in the General

Assembly. At age 16, she paged for him at the

Capitol.

Armed

with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a law

degree, Cox represented House District 160 in the

General Assembly, winning 64 percent of the vote.

"It

was kind of a joke that I was running: no one had

ever elected a woman in south Georgia

before," Cox told the girls. "But I

worked 10 times harder than my opponent and beat

the socks off that guy."

Her

opponent was a 16-year veteran of the legislature

and was 71 years old. "Two years later, no

one ran against me," she added.

Cox

urged the girls to start preparing now for a

future run for office, be it school board or the

state house.

"Somebody

doesn't come along with a magic wand and anoint

you to work in public service," she said.

Cox

advised the scouts to be conscious of what they

are doing now, warning that bad decisions like

"hanging out with the wrong crowd" can

"close the door on your opportunities.

"Prepare

yourself with education and your

reputation," she said.

"For

two weeks, read the front page of the

newspaper... you will know 100 percent more than

anybody else around you."

"Get

involved with your community... I'd love to see

every one of you running for my job, running for

city council. We need you.

"What

you can do for the state is endless," Cox

concluded.

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