R. Olin Jackson was raised in northwest Georgia. In 1971, he volunteered for service in the United States Army where he was trained as a military policeman and ultimately assigned to the security detail for the U.S. Army Commander of NATO, Gen. Michael S. Davison, in Heidelberg, Germany. Serving from 1972 to 1975 in the 529th Military Police Company, "R.O." was also a member of the USAREUR Color Guard detail from 1973-1975. In 1974, competing against over 170 other U.S. Army military police units, the 529th was the recipient of the prestigious "Brigadier General Jeremiah P. Holland Award" as the top military police company in the United States Army worldwide. Upon completion of his military service, R.O. was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the Army Commendation Medal and was honorably discharged. He returned stateside where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Georgia State University in 1977, and a master's degree in political science history from the University of North Georgia in 1982.Professionally, R.O. initially landed employment as a speechwriter for a Georgia politician in 1978, moving on in the early 1980s to the University of North Georgia where he served as Director of Media Services and Sports Information. In 1984, R.O. was employed as a senior account executive with a major public relations firm in Atlanta. In this capacity he traveled throughout the United States for clients ranging from hotel chains to national resort developers.In 1987, R.O. founded Legacy Communications, Inc., where he became the executive editor and publisher of his flagship award-winning creations - North Georgia Journal and Georgia Backroads magazines - the premier travel and history publications of Georgia. He parlayed this endeavor into an 18-year publishing career.In the interim, R.O. also wrote/co-wrote and edited a selection of books, including Moonshine, Murder and Mayhem in Georgia (2003); Tales of the Rails in Georgia (2004); and Georgia Backroads Traveler (2005). In 2005, R.O. sold Legacy Communications and the magazines and books and semi-retired to manage an investment portfolio of commercial real estate.In 2021, he returned to the world of journalism, founding Whippoorwill Publications, LLC. His creations at Whippoorwill have included "Mystery and History in Georgia, Volume I" (2022) (honored with a Five-Star Award by "Readers' Favorite" book awards), and the companion to that book: "Mystery and History in Georgia, Volume II" (2023); "Some Genealogy Keys to Some Georgia Family Trees" (2023) which provides detailed historic and genealogical information on ten interrelated Georgia families: the Neels, Andersons, Fricks, Hudgins, Tanners, Jordans, Gravatts, Pettyjohns, Rogers and Jacksons; "John Henry 'Doc' Holliday: A Matter of Survival" (2023); "Memories of Army Life and MPs of the 529th" (2024); "After All That We've Been Through" (selections of original poetry) (2024); and "Gunmen, Lawmen and Wild Men of Early Georgia" (2024).R.O. is married to the former Judy Grizzle of Dahlonega, Georgia.
