Gainesville native to head Deal inaugural team

ATLANTA - A Gainesville native has been chosen by Gov. Nathan Deal, who was elected to a second term Tuesday, to lead his inaugural team.<br /> <br /> Tom Willis, who will serve as the team's executive director, will head the group charged with planning the inauguration ceremony, which will be held in January, and other related events. <br /> <br /> Willis served as the 2014 Deal for Governor campaign manager for the last two years. Prior to that, he worked in the governor's office in various capacities and as his personal assistant on the 2010 campaign. He is a graduate of Sewanee University of the South and Gainesville High School.<br /> <br /> Other members of the inaugural team are:<br /> <br /> Tricia Pridemore, co-chair<br /> Pridemore is a Marietta-based businesswoman with a background in technology companies. She served as the executive director of the Governor's Office of Workforce Development. During her tenure at GOWD, she launched Go Build Georgia, Operation: Workforce and a host of successful programs helping Georgians re-enter the workforce. Most recently, Pridemore was a candidate for Congress in Georgia's 11th District. She and her husband, Michael, live in Marietta.<br /> <br /> Edens Davis, co-chair<br /> Davis holds a decade of experience in Georgia politics, having served as a staff member for the Republican Governors Association and the gubernatorial campaigns of Gov. Sonny Perdue, Georgia Senate Pro Tempore Eric Johnson and most recently Gov. Nathan Deal. For Deal, Davis served on his transition team, inaugural committee, local government liaison and then as a policy adviser in the areas of natural resources, transportation, economic development and agriculture. Currently, he is the director of Government Relations for Connect South. Davis graduated from Emory University with a bachelor of arts in Political Science. He and his wife, Kirsten, are active at Capital City Club, Peachtree Presbyterian Church and several other charitable organizations in Atlanta.<br /> <br /> Banks and Missy Burgess, parents of the late Deal campaign field staffer Mack Burgess, will serve as honorary chairs. Mack Burgess was killed in a traffic accident in the Atlanta area just a few weeks before the election

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