Mike Harlin was a member of the initial Oconee Food Summit, representing the Golden Corner Food Pantry. Mike is a regular volunteer and the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the pantry. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a degree in Marketing, he began a 33-year career as an executive at Macy’s. He retired in 2014 and was looking forward to a quiet life on the lake. After a year or so, his wife Jane, also a volunteer at the pantry, talked Mike into being a substitute in the back at the pantry on occasional Wednesdays. He went swiftly from that occasional substitute position to full-time participation on the Wednesday team, then to Board membership, and is now starting his third year as Chairman of the Board and also transferred to leading a team of volunteers on Tuesdays. Because of his work at the food pantry, Mike has become more aware of the food insecurity issues in Oconee County, seeing firsthand the importance of nutritious food as part of a healthy and self-sustaining lifestyle. He sees the food pantry as an important part of our community’s safety net for low-income residents. Mike will be focusing on Food Insecurity data gathering and interpretation for the Food Council. In his leisure time, he enjoys woodworking, home improvement projects, playing with his dogs, and fishing.

Mike Harlin

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