Deal appoints 10 to boards

Joan B. Thomas, Stone Mountain Memorial Association (reappointment)
Thomas owns and manages rental property in Walton County as well as a family owned business in DeKalb County, The Thomas Group, Inc. She has served on the George Walton Academy Board of Trustees and the Walton County Juvenile Court Judges Panel. Thomas and her husband of 36 years, Kenneth, have four sons. They reside in Monroe.

Page Love, Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dietitians (reappointment)
Love is the owner of Nutrifit Sport Therapy, Inc., a company dedicated to helping clients reach wellness goals. She has recently worked with the Atlanta Braves, the U.S Tennis Association, Men’s and Women’s ATP & WTA Professional Tennis Tours, and the U.S Figure Skating Association. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a master’s degree from Georgia State University. She and her husband have two children. They reside in Atlanta.

Christian O. Yaughn, State Housing Trust Fund Commission
Yaughn is a small business owner as well as the founder of Fostering Families: Bulloch program. The program is an effort by local citizens to assist children in crisis situations. He and his wife, Kim, have three children. They reside in Statesboro.

Stefanie D. Palma, State Board of Physical Therapy
Palma has practiced physical therapy for over 34 years. She is currently the department chairman and a professor in the Physical Therapy department at North Georgia College and State University. She earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Georgia State University. Palma also received a post-professional doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Central Arkansas. She is a board certified clinical specialist in Neurology by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties as well as a certified Brain Injury Specialist by the American Academy of Brain Injury Specialists. Palma serves as commissioner for the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education and is a past president of the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia. She and her husband, Michael, have three children. They reside in Dahlonega.

Melanie Harris, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
Harris is currently employed by District Attorney Joe W. Hendricks, Jr. of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit, where she serves as the director of victim services. She has served as chairman of the Fannin County Domestic Violence Task Force for three years and briefly served as secretary for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Task Force. She chairs the Child Fatality Review Committee, as well as the Child Abuse Protocol Committees in Fannin, Gilmer and Pickens counties. Previous work experience includes legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence within the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, as well as conducting P.O.S.T. accredited law enforcement training while employed at the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office. Harris and her husband, Kevin, have two children. They reside in Mineral Bluff.

George “Bo” Hamil, Jr., State Board of Physical Therapy (reappointment)
Hamil is president and CEO of Southern Therapy Services, Inc., a regional rehabilitation company. He has served as a physical therapy clinical instructor for more than 30 years. He is the immediate past chairman of the board of First Georgia Banking Co. Hamil earned a bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia and a master’s degree in Counseling from West Georgia College. He and his wife, Shirley, have three sons. They reside in Carrollton. 

Dilyana I. Kovacheva, Martin Luther King Jr. Advisory Board
Kovacheva is a freshman at Georgia Perimeter College where she is a psychology and pre-law major. She is both an English as a Second Language and First Things First teacher with the International Rescue Committee in Atlanta. She served as a member of the Student Government Association, Spanish Honor Society, Latin Honor Society, Art Honor Society and Future Educators of America while in high school. Kovacheva was a recipient of the Georgia Perimeter College Commitment to Service Scholarship and was selected to participate in the Georgia Perimeter College Bonner Leader Program. She resides in Norcross.

Randy L. Glass, State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless
Glass serves as vice president of Atlanta Mission, which provides emergency shelter, residential discipleship, job attainment and transitional housing to more than a thousand homeless men, women and children. Previously, he spent 14 years in senior management with international banking firms in the U.S. and abroad before transitioning to the local nonprofit sector. Glass received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia and his master’s degree in Business Administration from the American Graduate School of International Management. He is a native of Gainesville and a member of Mount Paran Church in Atlanta. He resides in Smyrna.

Carlton LaTain Kell, Sr., Child Fatality Review Board (reappointment)         
Kell is a Superior Court judge in Cobb County. He formerly served in the office of the Attorney General of Georgia for 10 years, specializing in tort litigation. He practiced at Troutman Sanders as well as Brock Clay law firms in the areas of general litigation, education and transportation law. Kell currently serves on the State Bar’s Judicial Reform Committee. He and his wife, Sheri, live in Marietta with their son, Carlton.

Thomas E. Morrill, State Workforce Investment Board
Morrill is a former senior product manager with Varian Medical Systems. He is chairman of the board of directors for the Peach County Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Peach County Republican Party. Morrill is a member of the Fort Valley Kiwanis Club. He attends Harvest United Methodist Church in Byron. Morrill earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Campbell University. He and his wife, Kay, have two sons and two granddaughters. They reside in Fort Valley.