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Mock to run for school board seat
Dasher wont seek re-election to post
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After a lot of soul-searching and prodding, Mose Mock wants to re-enter the Effingham County education system.

Mock, a longtime educator, will be running for the Effingham Board of Education 4th District seat. James Dasher currently represents the 4th District on the school board, and Dasher will not seek re-election to his post.

Mock said he has thought about running for the school board for a while and had been urged to do so.

“Several people have approached me and said, ‘you need to be on the school board,” he said.

But Mock first wanted to finish some of his obligations to other entities, namely his term as chairman of the board of directors at Treutlen House.

He completes his run as board chairman in April.

“I didn’t feel like being on the school board and on the Treutlen House board at same time,” he said. “We’ve got some good people coming on and we’ve got some people on there now who are great.”

Mock retired from teaching a year and a half ago after spending more than 28 years in and out of the classroom as an agricultural vocation educator.

“I loved the kids,” he said. “I can truthfully say I do not have a former student I can’t call a friend. That association means so much.”

As a teacher, his objective was to make the student No. 1 and the teacher No. 2.

“If you keep those things in harmony,” Mock said, “everything else will fall into place.”

Mock also spent 25 years on the Effingham Fair Committee. He is a member of the Young Farmers and American Cattlemen’s Association, Retired Teachers and chairman of deacons at First Baptist Church of Springfield. He is also a lifetime member of Future Farmers of America alumni.

Though he was born in Frankfurt, Germany, where his father was stationed at the time, Mock has long Effingham roots. His dad served on the Effingham school board and his grandfather was a barber in Springfield.

An Effingham County High School graduate, Mock attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, the University of Georgia and Georgia Southern University, completing his degrees in agriculture and agriculture education. He’s also won local, state and national American Farmer and FFA awards.

He’s also a farmer and a landowner and praises the work of the school system. But he also wants to make sure the budget is being spent properly.

“I think we have quality schools,” Mock said. “But people in the community are hurting. There are always areas we can look at.”

Dasher, a local realtor, said his intention was to serve two terms and step down. His second four-year term ends this year. His daughter also graduates this year.

“It’s been a great eight years,” he said. “I’ve been privileged and honored to serve the boys and girls. I truly enjoyed it. But it’s time to give someone else a shot. It’s time to do something else. We have a great school system.”

Dasher said Mock, who is making his first foray into an election as a candidate, “is a good guy.”

“I’m not a politician,” Mock said. “But I am a servant.”