Two people from Gainesville and three from Cumming are among several northeast Georgians named to state boards by Gov. Nathan Deal last week.
In all, the governor made 51 appointments as the state prepared to begin its new fiscal year on July 1.
Here is the list of those from northeast Georgia who were included. The complete list of appointees is available here.
Martha Martin, Board of Directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (Reappointment)
Martin owns a trucking company and has more than 56 years of experience in the trucking industry. She is the vice president of the Hoschton Women’s Civic Club and sits on the board of directors for the Transportation Air Quality Control. Martin is a member of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association, the Tree House Board, and the Hoschton Heritage Arts Council. She was a founding member and a past president of the Rotary Club of Braselton. Martin and her husband, Max, have two children and one grandson. They live in Hoschton.
Doug Tollett, Board of Governors of the George L. Smith II World Congress Center Authority (Reappointment)
Tollett began his career in the real estate business in 1972 when he founded Douglas Management Co. He is a past president of American Resurgens Management Corp. and helped to develop several projects in the Atlanta area including Resurgens Plaza, Resurgens Park, Sanctuary Park and the Georgia International Convention Center. Tollett and his wife, Brenda, have four children and 11 grandchildren. They reside in Cumming.
Michael Bennett, Lake Lanier Island Development Authority (Reappointment)
Bennett owns and operates a beef cattle business in Forsyth and Walker counties. He has experience in the electrical industry and holds an electrical contractor license in Georgia. Bennett sits on the boards of directors for the Citizens Bank of Forsyth County and the Forsyth County Farm Bureau. He is a past chairman of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. Bennett previously sat on the Georgia Baptist Hospital Board and the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission. He received the Forsyth County Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award for distinguished service and the Upper Chattahoochee River Soil and Water Conservation District’s Farm Family of the Year Award. Bennett and his wife, Patsy, have three children and nine grandchildren. They reside in Cumming.
Matt Arthur, Southern Regional Education Board Legislative Council (Reappointment)
Arthur is the deputy commissioner for the Technical College System of Georgia. He is a former teacher, coach, assistant principal, career and technical education director and secondary principal. Arthur was previously the director of education reform for the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and superintendent of the Rabun County School System for 13 years. He represents Georgia as a member of the Southern Regional Education Board. Arthur is also a member of the Georgia Center for Early Language and Literacy Board, the Georgia School Superintendents Association, Georgia’s Education Reform Commission and the REACH Georgia Foundation. Arthur earned a bachelor’s degree in Education, a master’s degree in Education and an education specialist degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Margie, have two daughters and live in Lakemont.
Charles Cole, State Board of Accountancy
Cole is a partner at Le Roy, Cole & Stephens, LLC. He is a past president and member of the Cumming Kiwanis Club. Cole sits on the board of directors for the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce and the North Georgia College and State University Real Estate Foundation. He and his wife, Linda, have four children and one grandchild. They live in Cumming.
Bill Prather, State Board of Pharmacy (Reappointment)
Prather is the former owner of Blue Ridge Pharmacy. He is a past president of the Fannin County Development Authority and Blue Ridge Mountain EMC. Prather is the board chairman for United Community Bank of Fannin County and serves as president of the Fannin County Scholarship Foundation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Mercer University. Prather and his wife, Layne, have two children and live in Blue Ridge.
Earl Graham, State Construction Industry Licensing Board: Division of Electrical Contractors (Reappointment)
Graham is the president of Grayco Electrical, Inc. He is a member of the Urban Redevelopment Agency of the Town of Braselton. Graham is a past president of the Legends Business Owners Club, the Fellowship of Businessman and The 1836 Club. He and his wife, Patricia Ann, have four children and reside in Braselton.
Erica Glenn, State Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Intervention Programs- Babies Can’t Wait
Glenn is the grants program consultant for the Georgia Department of Education’s Division of Federal Programs. She sits on the State Advisory Panel for Special Education. Glenn earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a master’s degree from Grambling State University. She has one child and resides in Gainesville.
Dawn Johnson, State Rehabilitation Council
Johnson is the director of adult programs for the Frazer Center. She represents Georgia as a legislative liaison on the National Association of People Supporting Employment (APSE) First Public Policy Committee and sits on the board of directors for the Georgia chapter of APSE. Johnson also sits on the board of directors for the Service Providers Association for Developmental Disabilities and is a member of the UNLOCK! Coalition, which advocates for child and adult disability services in Georgia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of South Carolina Aiken and a master’s degree in English from Queens University of Charlotte. Johnson and her husband, Joe, have two children and reside in Winder.
Justin Pressley, State Rehabilitation Council
Pressley is the founder and president of Access to a Better Tomorrow, a nonprofit in Gainesville. He sits on the Georgia ABLE Program Corporation board and is a member of the Georgia advisory committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Pressley previously sat on the advisory boards for Northeast Georgia Health Systems, the Disability Resource Center and the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission. He resides in Gainesville.
