Deal appoints four to boards

Judson C. Mitcham, Poet Laureate
Before retiring in 2004, Mitcham taught psychology at Fort Valley State University, where he served as department chairman. His work has appeared in many literary journals, including Georgia Review, Poetry, Hudson Review and Harper's Magazine. He has published three collections of poems and his two novels were both awarded the Townsend Prize for Fiction. Mitcham has held fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia Council for the Arts, and he has received a Pushcart Prize. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he completed multiple degrees, his final being a doctorate in Psychology. He now teaches writing at Mercer University in Macon, where he lives with his wife, Jean. They have two children and three grandchildren.

Brian K. Perdue, State Board of Cosmetology
Perdue is the president of Salon 124, Inc. and the Process Institute of Cosmetology, both located in Gwinnett County. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southwestern University and is a graduate of the Capelli Institute of Cosmetology. His salon has won several awards including Salon of the Year and was recognized as one of the fastest-growing salon companies in the United States. In 2008, he was voted Small Business Person of the Year by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on the Loganville Christian Academy Board of Trustees. Perdue and his wife, Karen, have three sons. They reside in Loganville.

Daniel J. Porter, Board of Juvenile Justice
Porter has been district attorney of Gwinnett County since 1993. He has been on the Prosecuting Attorney Council of Georgia and served as president of the District Attorneys Association. He received his law degree from the University of Georgia. Porter and his wife, Ann, have one son. They reside in Duluth.

W. Barry Turner, State Board of Podiatry Examiners
Turner specializes in chronic wounds and limb amputation prevention. He is employed by Aiyan Diabetes Centers and is a member/adviser to the Georgia Podiatric Medical Association Board. Turner teaches wound care to both support staff and physicians and opened the first free standing wound care center in Georgia in 1999. He received a nursing degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed his podiatric education at Barry University. Turner and his wife, Robin, have two daughters and four grandsons. They reside in Hartwell.