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Kelly Doughman, said she felt like she won the lottery when she was named Hollis Hand Elementary School’s newest principal.

“I’m so excited and feel blessed beyond measure. I can’t wait to start this chapter here,” Doughman said.

Doughman previously served as the assistant principal at Ethel Kight Elementary School and has been an employee of the Troup County School System for 25 years. Prior to becoming an elementary assistant principal, she served as a fourth and fifth-grade teacher at Ethel Kight Elementary, Unity Elementary and Berta Weathersbee Elementary. Most recently, Doughman participated in the TCSS Leadership Development Principals for Tomorrow cohort.

Doughman said she felt the timing was right to apply for a principal position.

“Being that I had been at Ethel Kight as an assistant principal for nine years, I felt like this was a great time to jump off and see if I would be given the opportunity to go the next step in administration,” Doughman said. “I feel very blessed that it happened to me at the right time and the right fit.”

Doughman said she will miss the relationships she’s built at EKES.

“The principal and I have been working together for almost 13 years, and he was the best administrator and human around. We’ve worked very hard to create a culture of family at Ethel Kight, and everybody was like family. It’s very bittersweet, leaving them and moving over here, but the good thing is we’re just around the corner,” Doughman said.

Doughman officially starts as principal on June 20 and said she has plans to meet with the staff and to get to know her parents.

“I want to meet with all the staff individually and get to know everyone. I plan to set up some PTO board meetings to meet the parents and schedule a meet and greet so that families can come through and meet me sometime in July,” Doughman said.

“One of my big goals is to work on bringing families back in the school and having them be more involved in meaningful activities in the school. I know there are many traditional activities that haven’t been brought back since COVID, and I want to bring them back to create that atmosphere of a family from the teachers to the top down.”

As she prepares to take the lead, Doughman said she’s heard great things about the students and teachers and looks forward to a great school year.

“I have been very humbled by the amount of staff and parents in the community who’ve reached out, offered support and welcomed me in with open arms. I feel like I won the lottery and am I blessed beyond measure to be here,” Doughman said.