Roster of Members

Carvel Lewis is the licensed embalmer and funeral director for Lewis Mortuary, his family’s business in Fort Gaines, GA and manages the second location in Georgetown, GA. He currently serves as Chairman of the Georgetown-Quitman County Board of Commissioners and the Quitman County Library Board. He has previously served on Quitman County Planning and Zoning Board and as Chairman of the Quitman County Water and Sewerage Authority.

In 2015, he was appointed by Governor Deal to the Middle Chattahoochee Water Council. Also, in 2018 President Donald Trump appointed him to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Government Advisory Committee and EPA’s Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee. Lewis is also a member of Board of Managers for ACCG (Association of County Commissioners of Georgia) representing Georgia’s consolidated governments.

Locally, Lewis is a member of the Quitman County Rotary Club and the local PTA, President of the Quitman County Civic League, and serves as a Steward, Trustee, Sunday School teacher and Director of Christian Education for St. Stephen AME Church in Georgetown.

He is a graduate of Hampton University in Hampton, VA with an undergraduate degree in Biology and an associate degree in funeral service from Gupton Jones College of Funeral Service in Decatur, GA. Lewis has served for over 20 years on the National Hampton Alumni Association, Inc. Board, chairing various boards and serving as Southeast Region President and National Vice President for the Eastern Regions. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and the single father of one son, and they reside in Georgetown.

Fran Millar is a former State Representative (12 years ) and State Senator (8 years) who chaired the Education and Higher Education committees. He was very active with the Southern Regional Education Board and in his legislative career spent considerable time working on initiatives that included career pathways and dual enrollment. He is a retired insurance brokerage executive and presently the principal in a marketing firm. Mr. Millar presently serves on several nonprofit boards and he and his wife Mary have three married children and seven grandchildren. They reside in Dunwoody and are active members of Dunwoody United Methodist Church.

Tim began his career in the roofing industry in 1990 and was the operating partner for the first branch of Roofing Supply of Atlanta (RSA). He expanded RSA to markets throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, and Indiana.

In 2006, he and his associates merged 63 branches across the country to form the Roofing Supply Group, which was later acquired by Beacon Roofing Supply. Perryman has partnered in a number of businesses ranging from food service, cremation, and real estate development.

He has remained in the roofing supply business and owns and operates Atlanta Squares Supply LLC. Perryman is an Army Veteran, having served in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.

Calder Clay is a partner and Vice President of Operations with Southern Spine, LLC and Smisson-Cartledge Biomedical. His medical device career includes sales and management positions with Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson and Johnson.

Calder is a former elected member of the Macon City Council and the Bibb County Board of Commissioners. He is a member of the Macon Civic Club and Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon, GA.

Calder earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Kathy, have three married daughters and two grandsons. The Clays live in Macon.

After graduating from The University of Georgia in 1982 with a BBA degree in Business Management, Eddie joined his family’s GM dealership as the dealer. Ten years later, the family business was sold, which launched his career into the insurance industry as the Ausband Agency representing Nationwide Insurance.

It was a natural progression that Eddie obtained his Securities License in 1993 and obtained the professional designation of Certified Financial Planner™ in 2000. In 2004, he reorganized The Ausband Agency’s financial services into a separate entity, Revanta Financial Group, LLC. Through fee-based investment advisory services, they offer financial and estate planning services as well as employee benefits consulting including group health plans and retirement plans.

In 2009, Eddie acquired a SERVPRO® franchise, the largest restoration company in North America. He saw this as a natural alliance that would complement his insurance endeavors and in 2017, he acquired a second franchise. For the past five years, SERVPRO® of Norcross and Duluth has been ranked in the top 15% of franchises by Servpro Industries, Inc. and recognized as a Top 100 franchise in three of those years. With 25+ employees, they continue to grow.

To expand his insurance and financial services, he recently formed Ausband Chapman, Inc., merging his agency with his brother Brad’s and a former employee, James Chapman. The new company now ranks among the largest independent agencies in South Atlanta with 30+ employees, in two states and seven locations.

Professionally, Eddie is a member of the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors. Locally, he chairs the Finance Committee for the First Baptist Church of McDonough, is a Past Chairman of the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, former member of the Atlanta Regional Commission, and currently serves as vice-chair for the Henry County Development Authority. He also serves as an emeritus board member of the UGA Terry College Alumni Board and Innvision Hospitality, Inc.

Whether it’s financial advice, handling insurance policies, or fire and water crises, Eddie enjoys helping others. When he’s not working, Eddie’s an avid golfer and enjoys being at the beach with his family. He has been married for 39 years to the former Allison Copeland, an executive with Delta Air Lines. They have three children, McKenzie, Shelby and Tripp, four grandchildren and reside in McDonough, GA.

Doug Lambert is a businessman and entrepreneur who founded Southeastern Hospitality Services, Inc., which developed eight hotels in Statesboro and Savannah. Prior to opening his business, he worked at Franklin Equities, Inc., where he spent 27 years and led the operation of several hotels and restaurants across the southeast.

During his long and dedicated career in the hospitality industry, he served on the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association, the Staybridge Suites Advisory Council and other industry and community organizations.

Lambert attended what is now Georgia Southern University where he earned a BBA in Marketing. He and his wife, Karen, live in Statesboro and have five children and six grandchildren.

This board member’s bio has not been submitted yet.

Fox is president of Fox Systems, Inc. He currently sits on the Technical College System of Georgia Board of Directors, The Gordon County College and Career Academy Board of Directors and the Gordon County Development Authority.

He previously served on the Technical College System of Georgia Foundation Board and as past chairman of the Board of Directors at Georgia Northwestern Technical College.

Fox has two daughters and two grandsons. He resides in Calhoun.

Trey Sheppard is President of Howard Sheppard, Inc., a family owned trucking business located in Sandersville. He serves as the Vice Chairman of the Citizens Bank of the South and is also Past Chairman and current board member of the Georgia Southern University Athletic Foundation.

On the state level he serves on the Technical College System of Georgia State Board representing the 10th Congressional District and is a board member of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association. He is active in his local community serving on the Washington County Development Authority and is a member of the Sandersville Rotary Club.

Sheppard is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Georgia and in 2016 was selected to Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40 Class and Georgia Southern University’s 40 Under 40 Class. Trey and his wife, Emily, have four children and live in Sandersville.

Lee Chapman is the Executive Vice President of External Affairs at Jackson EMC. As one of the largest electric cooperatives in the nation, Jackson EMC provides power to one of the fastest growing areas of Georgia along the I-85, I-985 corridor, which has become home to numerous international companies. Lee’s work is focused on government relations and statewide economic development efforts to advance Jackson EMC’s interest with strategic partnerships at the state and national levels. He is responsible for external affairs and member relations, including managing all marketing and sales strategies for residential, commercial, and industrial power supplies and services in a highly competitive marketplace; developing and implementing grassroots state legislative initiatives, representing the cooperative at the Georgia Public Service Commission on territorial issues; coordinating and maintaining community involvement; and for overall customer service and member satisfaction.

Lee began his career at Jackson EMC in 1988 focusing on the needs of residential members before taking a role as a commercial/industrial marketing representative in Gainesville. In 1998, Lee was promoted to Director of the Commercial and Industrial Marketing Department before being named Vice President of Marketing, Member Services and Legislative Affairs in 2015. Lee assumed his present position in 2022. Before joining JEMC, Chapman served on the staff of U.S. Senator Sam Nunn.

Lee received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Brenau College. He is also a graduate of Leadership Jackson, Leadership Hall, Leadership Georgia, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Management Internship Program.

Lee was recently appointed by Governor Brian Kemp to the Technical College System of Georgia State Board where he participates in establishing standards, regulations, and policies for the operation of the Technical College System of Georgia. He was previously appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to the Georgia Public Service Commission Advisory Committee in 2013 and served on the Board of the Georgia Economic Developers Association from 2017 to 2022. He previously served on the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the United Way of Hall County Board of Directors, the Gainesville College Board of Trustees, Gainesville Jaycees Board of Directors, March of Dimes Board of Directors, and Gainesville/Hall ’96 Olympic Committee. Lee also has served as the president of the East Hall High School Tip-Off Club and was an AAU Basketball Coach for 10 years. He has been named Gainesville Jaycees Young Man of the Year and was a 1994 recipient of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Silver Shovel Award.

Lee and his wife Karen live in Gainesville and have two grown children, Haley Shue (Micah) and Hayden, who are fourth generation UGA graduates. Go Dawgs!

Lee is also very proud of his two young granddaughters Oaklee and Bentley.

Corey Ferguson is a Principal and Vice President with T. Dallas Smith & Company, LLC, a commercial real estate firm based in Atlanta. In his current position, he uses data analytics and a myriad of internal skills to assist corporate clients in securing real estate solutions. He has 20+ years of experience in commercial real estate.

Before joining T. Dallas Smith & Company, Ferguson worked as a corporate real estate specialist with Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a Senior Leasing and Property Manager for SugarOak Holdings and Asset and Property Manager for Colliers International. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Ron Clark Academy, a member of the Board of Directors for the Dave Krache Foundation, and the Mentorship Chair for the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors.

In 2022, he was named to the Leadership Cobb Class of 2022-23. Ferguson earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Alabama, where he played Division 1 football. He and his wife, Leslie, live in Mableton with their three children.