Earl L. "Buddy" Carter was born and raised in Port Wentworth.   He attended public schools in Chatham County and graduated in 1975 from Groves High School.    From there he went to Young Harris College where he received an Associate of Science Degree.   He then transfered to the University of Georgia where he recieved his Bachelor of Science degreee in Pharmacy in 1980.

     Buddy worked as a staff Pharmacist and Pharmacy Manager at Rupert Heller's Prescriptions on Hwy 80 in Garden City from 1980 until November of 1988.   On November 28, 1988 he opened his first Retail Pharmacy, Carter's Pharmacy, Inc. in Pooler.   In 1992 he opened another business, Carter's Institutional Pharmacy, Inc., a business servicing nursing homes, personal care homes and hospices.   In 1996 he opened his second retail pharmacy in Lifeline Medical Center in Garden City.

     In February of 1997, Buddy sold his Institutional Pharmacy, then servicing approximately 2000 nursing home beds throughout south Georgia, to Omnicare, Inc. Omnicare, Inc., located in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the largest provider of nursing home medications in the world. Today, Buddy still manages the Institutional Pharmacy for Omnicare and he continues to own and operate the two retail Pharamacies in Pooler and Garden City.

     On September 9, 1978,   Buddy married his college sweetheart, the former Amy Coppage from Waycross. Amy is a Registered Physical Therapist, having graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy degree.   Buddy and Amy   have 3 teenage sons- Joel, a rising Sophomore at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA, Barrett, a rising Senior at Savannah Country Day School, and Travis, a rising Freshman at Savannah Country Day School.    

      The Carter family has lived in Pooler since 1980 and now reside at 406 Purple Finch Dr.