Speaker Terry Coleman represents the 118th state house district which encompasses all of Dodge and Bleckley county and portions of Telfair, Wheeler and Laurens counties.This rural middle Georgia district is home to Middle Georgia College which is recognized as the oldest two-year college in America. It is located in the city of Cochran in Bleckley county. Cochran is also home to the Pace House which houses the Middle Georgia College Museum.

Eastman, the county seat of Dodge County and where Speaker Coleman was born and raised, is home to the original Stuckey Candy Plant and is referred to as the candy capitol of Georgia. One of the major special events in Dodge County is the “Dickens of a Christmas”, held annually the second weekend in December.

In 1932 George Perry caught the largest large mouth bass ever recorded. He was from Telfair County in the southern most portion of the Speaker’s district. His trophy fish weighed in at 22 pounds and 4 ounces. The record still stands. Telfair County is also the home of two of Georgia’s most notable political legends, Eugene and Herman Talmadge who were from McRae.

The Milly Troup Tomb and the Big Oak Tree are located in Wheeler County in the South end of the Speaker’s district. Legend has it that a young slave who died in 1863 was buried near the home of her master and the oak tree was planted to shade her grave. The tree now measures 30 feet in circumference with a canopy that spreads 141 feet.

And finally there is Laurens County, the largest County in the district. Dublin, the county seat, holds a two-week long St. Patrick’s Day festival which is known for the world biggest Irish stew. Biologist have also found a new breed of fish in the Oconee River on the Laurens County border.

All in all the five counties represent a cross section of Rural Georgia.