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.

F. Thomas “Tommy” David, Statesboro, 12th Congressional District Representative –

David retired from banking after 42 years. He is a former chairman of the board of Ogeechee Technical College and was a trustee and past president of the Ogeechee Technical College Foundation. He is the past Chairman for the Georgia Southern University Housing Foundation and an Emeritus Board Member of Georgia Southern University Foundation. He is the past chairman of East Georgia Regional Medical Center and serves as Vice Chairman for the Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority.

David served as campaign chairman and president of United Way of Southeast Georgia. He is the Past President of the Rotary Club of Statesboro and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and Leadership Bulloch.

David earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. He and his wife, Karen, have two daughters and four grandchildren.

David was appointed to the State Board by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2008.

A Georgia native, Joe was born in Rome, and has resided in Dalton since 1972.  Joe and his wife of 32 years, Nanette, have five adult children and eight grandchildren.

An active member of Grove Level Baptist Church, Joe currently serves as Chairman of the Long-Range Planning Committee, on the Watchman Prayer Ministry, as an Adult Sunday School Leader, and as an Usher.

He is a graduate of Auburn University (1970) with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has since completed numerous Leadership Development and skill improvement programs.

After six years in various positions with Coronet Industries, Joe joined Aladdin Mills in June, 1978 as Director of Manufacturing.  Aladdin Mills was merged into Mohawk Industries in 1994.  In 1995, he was named Vice President Manufacturing for Mohawk and in 2004 Joe became Executive Vice President – Operations.

Through March, 2014 Joe served as Senior Vice President, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering.  These roles provided an opportunity to lead the innovation and integration of new technologies for the business and to be active in the assimilation of numerous mergers and acquisitions.

On March 31, 2014 Joe became the President of the Carpet and Rug Institute.  In this role, he will have the opportunity to lead this industry trade association whose members represent more than 90 percent of the carpet manufactured in the U.S. as well as members that provide numerous raw materials, goods and other services to the industry.

Also an active community leader, Joe currently serves on the Boards of Directors of:

• RossWoods Adult Day Services and is Chairman of the Building Campaign Steering Committee;
• Northwest Georgia Healthcare Partnership and the Executive Committee;
• Christian Heritage School Endowment Foundation Board;
• Former member of the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce and is a past Chairman;
• Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) and is the current Vice-Chairman;
• Water, Light and Sinking Fund Commission (Dalton Utilities) and is the current Chairman;
• State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia and is the current Chairman.
• Former member of United Way of Northwest Georgia Executive Board and is a past Chairman of the chapter’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society.
• Floor360 Consortium (Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership) and the Alliance for Innovation and Sustainability

Favorite Quote from the Auburn Creed:
I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn.
Therefore, I believe in work, hard work………..
I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by “doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.”  
-George Petrie (1945)

Doug Carter is President and Broker of Don Carter Realty Company, a 54 year old family owned real estate development and brokerage company located in Gainesville, Georgia. A native of Gainesville, Doug graduated from Gainesville High School, and he was a cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University. After graduating from college, he worked for State School Superintendent Werner Rogers as his assistant within the Georgia Department of Education.

He is active in a number of community activities including: member of Rotary, Former Chairman of Northeast Georgia Medical Center, a former Chairman of The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, a former Chairman of the North Georgia Community Foundation, a former Chairman of the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, a former Chairman of Leadership Georgia, and chaired the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in 2011.

Also, he served for five years as a local board member of Gainesville Bank & Trust. He currently is a member of the Economic Development Council in Hall County, member of the Gainesville-Hall County Land Bank board, chairman of the Gainesville Planning and Appeals board, member of the Vision 2030 Greenspace Committee, and serves as vice chairman of the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia. He also serves as a volunteer community auctioneer for numerous non-profits.

Doug is married to Sandy McCormick Carter who is also a graduate of Wake Forest and works with him in the real estate business. They have a daughter Lauren who is a graduate of the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. She now resides in Los Angeles. They are active members of First United Methodist Church in Gainesville.

Kaiser is the founder and President of The 7thirty7 Group, an independent consulting firm focused on community and economic development issues and initiatives. Prior to founding The 7thirty7 Group, Kaiser was Vice President of Community and Economic Development for Georgia Power. In addition, she served as Vice President of Georgia Power’s Northwest Region and its Vice President of Sales. Prior to Georgia Power, Kaiser held senior marketing positions with KPMG, Westminster Schools of Atlanta and Alston & Bird.

Kaiser currently serves on the board of trustees of Agnes Scott College and is a trustee emeritus of Berry College. She is a past chair of the Dean’s Council of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and, the REACH Foundation. In addition to her service in education, Kaiser is active in a number of for-profit and not-for-profit ventures including the board of the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative, the Alliance Theatre and the Woodruff Arts Center. She is a graduate of the National Association of Corporate Director’s “Director’s College,” as well as Leadership Atlanta.

Kaiser earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the University of Georgia and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School.

She and her husband, Mark, reside in Atlanta.

Mrs. Shirley Smith has been the executive director of Catoosa Citizens for Literacy, a certified community literacy program, since 1996.

Before working with literacy, she worked with a Pre-K program for eight years. She served five years on the Catoosa County Planning Commission, where she was elected chairman. Smith has been awarded the Ambassador of the Year and Citizen of the Year awards from the Catoosa County Chamber.

She was a recipient of the Liberty Bell Award in 2001 and the Georgia Press Award in 2007. Smith was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for Catoosa County by the Fort Oglethorpe Kiwanis Club in 2010.

Smith and her late husband, Wesley, have three children and six grandchildren. She reside in Ringgold.

Williams is vice president of corporate and external affairs at GreyStone Power Corp. in Douglasville. He also serves as vice chairman of the board of directors of the GEMC Federal Credit Union in Tucker. He previously served as chairman of the Douglas County Public Education Trust and also as board chairman of the South Fulton Chamber of Commerce.

Williams earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1982. He and his wife, Nancy, have two children. They reside in Douglasville.

David served as campaign chairman and president of United Way of Southeast Georgia. He is the Past President of the Rotary Club of Statesboro and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and Leadership Bulloch.

David earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. He and his wife, Karen, have two daughters and four grandchildren.

David was appointed to the State Board by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2008.