MARIETTA - Described by Cobb Board of Commissioners Chairman Sam Olens as the "moral conscience of the county," Deane Bonner, Cobb NAACP president since 1997, has announced she will not seek re-election when her term expires at the end of the year.

Bonner made the announcement during a banquet given in her honor at Chattahoochee Technical College Friday evening, where she was presented with the first annual "Celebrating Diversity in Cobb County" Award, sponsored by the college and Georgia Power.

David Connell, region manager for Georgia Power, called it a very special evening for celebrating diversity.

"This is one of the best communities in the state with regards to how we have managed to transition over time and done so in a successful fashion. Deane Bonner has been a critical part of our journey and going down the road of diversity truly is a journey. She is a very special person," Connell said.

An unusual snowstorm pummeled the region, but that didn't keep people from turning out to pay tribute to Bonner. The event, which was emceed by TV personality Flip Spiceland, began with a video tribute over dinner highlighting Bonner's life, featuring such movers and shakers as former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Dr. Betty Siegel, president emeritus of Kennesaw State University. Bonner was then asked to sit on the stage where she was roasted and toasted by a line up including Cobb Commissioner Tim Lee, Marietta City Councilman Rev. Anthony Coleman, former Marietta school board member Pam Flournoy, Bonner's grandson, Jazmon Ross; and MDJ reporter Jon Gillooly.

Bonner has changed the county for the better, Olens said.

"The fact of the matter is we have more minorities on our boards now than ever before, not even a close call, many more than ever before, more department heads that are minorities, more folks in management moving forward that are minorities, and she should have some pride in that because she has assisted the process for us," Olens said.

Mayor Franklin spoke of what a role model Bonner is to people in public service and community engagement.

"We know that you are commited to making Cobb County and Georgia the best that it can be. So keep those emails and letters and statements coming. We can't afford to lose you in the public dialogue," Franklin said.

The daughter of a man with a third-grade education who worked in a steel mill in Weirton, West Virginia, Bonner attended an all-black school in a time before integration. Realizing the local five and dime store wouldn't hire her because of her skin color, she escaped West Virginia after high school, traveling to live with her aunt in New Jersey, where she attended Ophelia DeVore's House of Charm, a modeling school and became a striking New York model.

She married Jesse Bonner, also the son of a steel worker who grew up in Canton, Ohio, who retired from Dobbins Air Force Base in 1975 as a senior master sergeant. Deane Bonner said the integration of military life shielded her family from the discrimination of civilian life. So it was with some surprise that when Jesse Bonner was stationed at Dobbins in 1972, and the couple attempted to move into Smyrna's Andover Apartments, the manager wouldn't rent to them. When the Bonners attempted to move in, the apartment owner blocked their way. Not until the base commander at Dobbins came to sign the lease would the manager let them in, she said. When the time came to renew the lease, the manager again gave them trouble and the Bonners retained Robert Benham, who now is a justice on the Georgia Supreme Court.

Ironically, when the Bonners moved out several years later, the same manager begged them to remain.

"When we get ready to move out (the apartment owner) comes to us and says, oh, he don't want us to leave because it's proven that we didn't have tails, that we're descent people, you know what I'm saying? He wants us to recommend other African Americans now, so you've passed this test of saying, hey you can have African Americans," she said.

Bonner is the mother of two children, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

KSU's Siegel spoke of Bonner's authenticity.

"She is who she is. She's proud of her roots. She is authentically what you see. There's no falseness about her. It's integrity, inner grit that I think that she has," Siegel said.

Chattahoochee Technical College President Dr. Sanford Chandler spoke of Bonner's kindness.

"She will open her arms to you regardless of who you are, regardless of what your position in life is, and she will be your friend. She was the first person in Cobb County that walked up and hugged my neck. She didn't know me. She hugged my neck. And ever since then we have been friends, even when you're getting in my business, OK," Chandler said, smiling at Bonner.

Former Cobb Democratic Party Chairman David Wilkerson said he was surprised by Bonner's announcement.

"It's great that you can pay tribute to someone though while they're still around. We're going to miss her and hopefully whoever takes over will do the same things she was able to do and live up to that legacy. No one can replace Deane Bonner, but we'll just hope the next person does a great job," Wilkerson said.

Added County Manager David Hankerson: "I can tell you a lot of what Deane Bonner started will continue because there's still a lot of work to be done. They are big shoes to fill but I'm sure there's some folks ready to step up."

Indeed, Bonner said it was time for the younger generation to take the gavel.

"One of the things that we need to make very loud and clear: the NAACP is not about an individual anyway," Bonner said.

"We will come and go and that organization will still be the most viable civil rights organization in this country, so we just look forward to continuing in Cobb County being one of the strong forces that continues to try to make change here," she said.

Yet Bonner does believe the county is on the right track.

"It has been 12 years of really trying to make a difference in Cobb County, and we feel like we're on the right track. We've made good partnerships with Cobb County, with the business community, the faith community, and we're on the road to being what we want to be," she said.

Bonner said she was moved that residents fought the snow to attend the event.

"To see the people that braved this weather to come out to this event this evening was so rewarding to me as a person. The tribute was very humbling, and it's probably one of the most rewarding experiences that I've ever had in my life, and I truly appreciate everyone that was here," she said.

Olens said Bonner may be hanging up a title, but he doesn't expect her to vanish from public life.

"She's not one of those folks that I see retiring and taking it easy. I think she is firmly commited to driving her husband crazy for many, many years to come," Olens said.