John Culpepper was appointed to the Georgia Civil War Commission by Governor Sonny Perdue in April 2005 and was elected Chair by his fellow Board Members in August 2006; he continues to serve in that capacity. September 2013 he retired from the City of Chickamauga, Ga. after 40 years of employment, 34 of which he held the position of City Manager. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the Walker County Water and Sewerage Authority, Board of Directors of the Hospital Authority of Walker, Dade and Catoosa Counties, and Board of Directors of the Friends of the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Park.
He is the founder of the Chickamauga Campaign Heritage Trail and Co – Chair of the Tri-State Civil War 150th Commemoration Association DBA Civil War South. He is the founder of the Private John Ingraham Camp # 1977 Sons of Confederate Veterans, major fund raiser for the Walker County Confederate Wall of Honor, the Patrick Cleburne Statue located at Ringgold Gap, Chickamauga Cemetery Confederate Memorial Monument and the Confederate Soldier Statue located on the grounds of the Gordon – Lee Mansion in Chickamauga. He served as the local co-coordinator for the 145th and 150th Reenactments of the Battle of Chickamauga held in Walker County and is Treasurer for Bethel Baptist Church. Awards include: 2002 Gordon-Lee Memorial High School Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2014 Kiwanis Club of Fort Oglethorpe Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Community Service for Walker County and the 2015 Veterans of Foreign Wars Patriotic Citizen of the Year for Walker County. He is a Civil War Reenactor and holds the rank of 2nd Lieutentant for the Hardee Guard Battalion. Family, wife of 34 years Brenda, Stepson Brandon Whitley, his wife Trisha and grandsons Colton Baker and Zander Whitley.