Meet Senator Brian Strickland

Pierre Branding Group welcomes Senator Brian Strickland as our September 2019 Featured Mentor.  Get to know Brian Strickland.

Brian Strickland is a native of McDonough, Georgia, and graduated from Henry County High School in 2002. In 2006 he graduated from Valdosta State University with a B.B.A. in Economics, receiving Dean’s List Honors and membership in the Pi Gamma Mu Honor Society. Brian was elected Chairman of the VSU College Republicans in 2005. After graduation from Valdosta State University, Brian attended Florida Coastal School of Law where he graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in 2009.

At Florida Coastal he received the Dean’s Scholar Award, the Book Award for highest grade in a course, and the Class of 2009 Law Student Recognition Award. He also was elected by his peers to serve as the President of the Student Bar Association of Florida Coastal School of Law in 2008 and 2009.

Sen. Strickland practices law in McDonough with the law firm of Smith, Welch, Webb & White. As a direct descendant of one of the original founders of Henry County, Sen. Strickland’s roots run deep in the community.

He lives in McDonough, Georgia with his wife Lindsay P. Strickland, and his son Charles Willis.

Sen. Strickland has been acknowledged in Southern Journal Magazine’s (SJM) 14 under 40 issue in 2013 as well as SJM’s Men of Substance issue in 2015. Brian is actively involved in the community through his church, McDonough Presbyterian Church, and Eagles Landing High School where he previously volunteered as a Mock Trial Coach.

He is also a member of the Young Professionals of Henry County, the Henry County Bar Association and has previously served as the Secretary of the Board for Crosswalk Ministries USA.  Brian has served as president of the Henry County Kiwanis Club, and currently, serves as a committee chairperson for Sponsored Programs.

Notable Legislation:

• Authored SB 406 which protects our elderly in long-term care facilities by requiring employees working in these facilities to complete background checks.
• Authored SB 407 which was the final phase of Governor Deal’s criminal justice reform and requires a Court to take into consideration an individual’s ability to pay a fine or bail in order to ensure we are not keeping people in jail based on their financial circumstances. This bill also enhanced the penalties for firearm offenses in Georgia.
• Authored SB 377 which created a state workforce development board to team with our technical college system in pairing employers coming to Georgia with our students in our technical colleges that are training for the jobs of the 21st century.
• Carried HB 790 in the Senate which streamlines the process for any individual challenging a decision by an agency in our state and makes this process more timely and efficient.
• Carried HR 993 in the Senate which allows for a constitutional amendment to create a state-wide business court in Georgia and will provide a more efficient process for business owners that find themselves subjected to a lawsuit.
• Secured  $16.175 million for Southern Crescent Technical College
• Authored legislation that allows extended family to petition to have visitation rights with minor children involved in a domestic case
• Authored legislation that would “even the playing field” for smaller private schools giving them the opportunity to compete in athletic events with public schools in their district.
• Authored legislation, known as the “mug shot bill”, which stopped the practice of having mugshot images posted online by law enforcement agencies in order to make it harder for private companies to gain access to the images to distribute online.

Brian has committed himself to make Henry County and the state of Georgia a better place to live, work and raise a family. His family taught him at an early age that giving back to your community is one of the most important roles in life. Brian has taken that and made it a priority in his own life.