Beth Arnold, Candidate for Gilmer County Coroner

Election, Election 2020

New energy. Beth Arnold, candidate for Gilmer County Coroner, says she wants to bring new energy to the office in Gilmer County. An office that she holds 11 years of experience for from funeral service as she says she has worked in Bernhardt Funeral Home. She also studied funeral services in the program at Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro, Georgia.

Arnold said that she decided to run for the Office of Coroner because she wants to serve the citizens of the county while taking the next step in education and public service through the career she has spent so much time in. A lifelong resident of Gilmer County except the time spent at college, Beth is the daughter of Lee and Buffy Rittenberry Holcombe. She graduated from Gilmer High School in 2010 and is married to Dusty Arnold with two daughters, Reagan and Farrah.

Relying on her family for support in her career is key as she says they have already gotten used to strange hours in her career. Continuing that support into the Coroner’s Office, she says it is her firm stance on the importance of family and her Christian beliefs that drive her.

Though not the first time she’s thought about the office, Arnold said that now, the timing is right to make that run. This is where that ‘new energy’ she talks about comes from. Arnold said she is excited to take these next steps receiving the education and training, but also to bring renewed growth and a new face to the office.

“[The Coroner’s Office] has always been there in a time of need, they’ve done well at gathering information to pass on to investigators… They have served the community well,” says Arnold who noted she wants to add new ideas to renew and revitalize the position. She pointed out she didn’t have major issues she wants to change, but rather just improve upon with a fresh face.

Arnold spoke about centralizing the office in the county to be more neutral ground with people who it serves. A professional yet compassionate environment for family members who come there.

The Coroner’s investigations and correspondence with those involved in the investigations are a key point in the office. Being a part of the community in service is another. But with separation from personal businesses, she wants to isolate the office in that area. She asserted this point saying that she wanted to separate the office from her own personal business included. Work at a funeral home is service to that business, but working in a public office is service to every citizen in the county.

Arnold said that she wanted to be “Beth Arnold, Gilmer Coroner” in those times. To be a coroner serving the community with dignity and respect is the goal she wants to achieve.

Arnold said that her career is a calling that isn’t for everybody. But setting to join funeral services in her career, she knew that. Being a blessing for people in a time of need, guiding them, and being a blessing for them as well. In funeral service, Arnold says that she wants to encourage people where she can.

The next step of running for Coroner, she says, is just an extension of that. Having that passion for helping people and the interest in funeral services, she wants to continue serving in a new role, a new capacity. Taking on the challenges of education and administrative responsibilities with that position, challenges like maintaining the budget and growing inside that budget, are all challenges to overcome in that service.

A fresh new role for her to fill, a fresh new face for the county. New energy to drive it into the future. Arnold says she will be there, any time of day, to provide in a time that people need to be treated with dignity and respect. There is no inconvenient time in this position and she wants that to be known saying, “It’s a position of service for those in the county and I want to serve you in that manner.”

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