LANETT – The Lanett School District’s new child nutrition program director credits family ties to the city and her fondness for the school system for coming out of retirement to head up the program.

Laura Hartley retired in May after 27 years in public education, one year in Georgia and 26 in Alabama. She had 22 years with the Opelika city system and three years with the State Department of Education.

“I have lots of family members who attended Lanett city schools,” she said. “I was really impressed with the system when I visited here with the State Department of Education,”

Hartley’s father, the late H.S. Bence, was well-known in the Valley area for working with Valley Chevrolet for a number of years prior to becoming a partner with Louie Morris in Bence-Morris Pontiac. They also started some mobile home parks in the Huguley community, namely Ben-Moore Village and Meadowbrook.

Hartley’s sister, Linda Bence (Dixon), graduated from Lanett High in the mid 1970s and was a classmate of current school board member Gail Holley.

Hartley said she’s very excited to be with the Lanett system. “I’ve fallen in love with it,” she said.

Hartley succeeds Clemmie Ramsey, who had been the CNP director for 25 years when she retired from the school system at the end of last year.

Hartley and her husband, Merrell, have two sons, Bence, who is 21, and Graham, who is 15.