GEORGIA — Support Services Specialist Angie Arrant retired on Nov. 1, 2024. A steadfast presence for her colleagues and community, Arrant spent the entirety of her 45-year career on the Blue Ridge Ranger District. 

Arrant was born in Murphy, North Carolina, but grew up in Blairsville, Georgia. Her career with the USDA Forest Service started when a friend’s mother offered her a summer job on what is now known as the Blue Ridge Ranger District. Arrant quickly proved herself and it wasn’t long before she transitioned into a permanent position. 
“I started working here a week after I graduated high school… back in 1978,” Arrant said. “And here I am, 45 years later, retiring!” 

The early days of Arrant’s career were focused on timber management. Using handwritten spreadsheets, she tracked data relating to roads and erosion across the district. Since then, her responsibilities have been diverse and wide-reaching. 

“Whatever [the district] has needed me for, I’ve just done,” Arrant said. “Years ago, I volunteered to work up at the Brasstown Bald Visitor Information Center. That was a special time during my career.”

Arrant has participated in fire-prevention education and a multitude of other outreach programs in the local community. She has also completed details in land surveying and fire. In recent years, Arrant focused primarily on budget, purchasing, policy and personnel. She described herself as “the district ranger’s right-hand-man in administration.” 
District Ranger Steverson Moffat emphasized Arrant’s vital contributions to the district. 

“How do you summarize the impacts of a 45-year career of dedicated service?” Moffat said. “Angie is our institutional memory, our expert on all things related to procurement, purchasing, budget tracking, Work Plans, contracting and no doubt things we’re about to learn that she just took care of. [Angie is] our primary link to the Blairsville community, and most of all, is our dear friend and mentor.”

Over the course of her career, Arrant has witnessed significant changes to the district and to the Forest Service as a whole. She recalls the centralization of the agency’s human resources operations in 2004 and the consolidation of the Brasstown, Toccoa and Chestatee Ranger Districts into the BRRD in 2005. But the biggest transformation she has witnessed was the arrival of new technology in the early 1980s. 

“I’ll never forget when they delivered our first computers. It was like a huge washing machine and dryer,” she said. “It was exciting for most of us, but there was just so much to learn… you can see how it has evolved over the years.” 

While tackling a wide range of responsibilities at work, Arrant was also busy building a family at home. 

“Getting married and having Will, he’s just such a blessing. He’s my biggest accomplishment,” Arrant said. “And I’ve been married for 43 years now. We put the Lord first and trust in Him.” 

A dedicated volunteer with the Forest Service, Arrant’s son, Will, is a familiar face at events on the BRRD – especially the Kids Fishing Rodeo held every spring. He is passionate about fire and recently joined the Great Basin Fire Team as a Public Information Officer Tech.

“I tell him he’s my legacy,” Arrant said. “Will is… a very kind person. He finds the good in everything. He’s just a super young man.” 

Arrant hopes that her retirement will include more time spent with family, especially her mother, who also resides in Blairsville. She and her husband, Junior, look forward to spending more time together enjoying life. They have even agreed to go fishing with her son Will.

“We do not like to fish,” she said. “But we [told Will] if you want to go fishing, we’ll go fishing.”

Despite her excitement for the next chapter, Arrant is sad to say farewell to her time with the Forest Service. 

“This is my life, my family away from my family,” she said. “I’m their mother hen – several of them call me mom. I just have a special bond with all the people here, and I am going to miss that.”

The sentiment is shared across all the staff at the BRRD and the entire Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. Arrant leaves behind a legacy of hard work, dedication and community that will not be forgotten by her colleagues. 

“We’re all happy that she’s going to be able to set her own schedule, spend more time with her family, and do things she’s had on her list for many years, since she’s earned every minute of retirement,” Moffat said. “We are going to miss her tremendously – her professionalism, diligence and her commitment to public service, but – we’re really going to miss her smile.”