Macon Magazine

June/July 2026 | maconmagazine.com 95 J E R R Y B A T T L E , N E I G H B O R H O O D C O O R D I N A T O R What does it mean for cities to lead with a neighborhood approach? Macon-Bibb County makes an amibitous play to build up by empowering district leaders to thrive, and providing them a voice who promises to listen. STORY BY ELDREDGE MCCREADY | PHOTOS BY DSTO MOORE H O W S T U F F W O R K S Macon's Parks and Recreation department. On the state level, he was a project administrator for the Department of Human Services and briefly worked as an eligibility specialist for the Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services. While living in Atlanta, he earned a master's in business administration from Strayer University. Battle, now 56, lived in the Kings Park area of Macon from 1975-79, and the house he and his family resided in back then has a backyard that literally abuts a fence bordering the park's basketball court. "I'm hitting all of Bibb County," he said of his new mission, but has started with neighborhoods frequently deemed most in need of revitalization. Besides his old neighborhood of Kings Park, he is currently focusing on the areas of Unionville, Payne City, and Napier Heights, among others to come. He is contacting local neighborhood associations, which are usually comprised of concerned residents and church leaders, to connect them with available services that the county already offers. "A lot of them have [associations] that have been established but are no longer active, so I'm really trying to get them back active," Battle said. "I'm really trying to tap into J erry Battle recently returned to his hometown to become the Neighborhood Program Coordinator for Macon-Bibb County, a newly established role. His mission is to revitalize areas deemed at risk. It's part of the Macon Good Neighbor Program initiated by Mayor Lester M. Miller. In some ways, he is finding that the new job is one battle after another, with his name analogous to the recent movie which won the 2026 Oscar for Best Picture. But at the same time, this new job is a labor of love for Battle. He was working as a project manager for the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for about a year when his position was eliminated in 2025 by the Department of Government Efficien cy (DOGE), the program put in place by Elon Musk. He graduated from nearby Knoxville College in 1993, which he considers to be many years ago. The opportunity at the DOE was his first job working for the U.S. government, but he had previously held several jobs within Georgia state and local government. Growing up in Macon, Battle graduated from Northeast High, taught at Southwest High School for many years, and previously worked for

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