Deal appoints 16 to boards

Christian Coomer, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group

Coomer represents the 141st District of the Georgia House of Representatives. He served four years of active duty in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps before opening a law practice in Cartersville. Coomer previously served as a state House floor leader for Deal. He is an active member of the Georgia Air National Guard and volunteers for several charitable and social service organizations. Coomer earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a law degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Hiedi, have two children. They reside in Cartersville.

Ronnie Mabra, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group

Mabra represents the 63rd District of the Georgia House of Representatives and serves on the High School Athletics Overview Committee. He is the founder of the Mabra Firm, LLC, a personal injury law firm in Atlanta. Mabra was previously appointed to the Georgia Child Support Commission by Gov. Deal. He was named one of Georgia’s top lawyers by Georgia Super Lawyers magazine. Mabra earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech and a law degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Dawn, reside in Fayetteville.  

Tom Weldon, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group

Weldon represents the 3rd District in the Georgia House of Representatives and serves as chairman of the House Juvenile Justice Committee. He is an attorney in Ringgold. Weldon earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a law degree from St. Thomas University. He and his wife, Wendy, have four children. They reside in Ringgold.

Rose Williams, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group

Williams was a prison warden with the Georgia Department of Corrections. She is the chair of the Georgia Board of Corrections and is the Georgia representative to the Correctional Peace Officer Foundation. Since her retirement, Williams began the Sergeant’s Academy with the Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice. Williams previously served as acting director of the Eastman Youth Detention Center. She is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and a lifetime member of the Georgia Prison Warden’s Association. She and her husband, George, have one child. They reside in Gray.

Andrew MacCartney, Board of Governors of the George L. Smith II World Congress Center Authority

MacCartney is the director of education and digital media at Georgia Public Broadcasting. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration Information Systems from Georgia Southern University. MacCartney and his wife, Teresa, have two children. They reside in Marietta.

Dr. Richard Bennett, Georgia Board of Dentistry (reappointment)

Bennett is senior partner with BGW Dental Group. He is a member of the Georgia Dental Association, the American Dental Association, the Hinman Dental Society and a fellow in the Pierre Fauchard Society. Bennett is the chair of the board for Good News Clinics. He received the Georgia Dental Association’s Community Service Award in 2013. Bennett earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Georgia Southern University and a dental degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He and his wife, Maggie, have three children. They reside in Gainesville.

Robert McClellan, State Board of Occupational Therapists

McClellan has worked in hand therapy for more than 14 years. He serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Hand and Upper Extremity Special Interest Group. McClellan earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Jacksonville University and a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Tuskegee University. He and his wife, Terri, have two children. They reside in Marietta.

Melissa Thurlow, State Board of Occupational Therapists (reappointment)

Thurlow is an occupational and certified hand therapist for Peachtree Orthopedics. She has more than 34 years of experience in physical therapy and rehabilitation. Thurlow is active with the board of directors of the Georgia Hand and Upper Extremity Special Interest Group. She is also an accreditor for the American Occupational Therapy Association. Thurlow earned a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Brenau University. She and her husband, Gregory, have two children. They reside in Norcross.

Dr. Larry Brown, State Board of Optometry (reappointment)

Brown has practiced optometry in Cartersville for more than 20 years. He is a member of the Georgia Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association. Brown has served as a consultant to several electronic medical records software providers and has given lectures on the electronic medical records at national optometry meetings. He earned a doctorate degree in Optometry from the University of California at Berkeley. Brown and his wife, Holly, reside in Waleska.

Dr. Robert McCullough, State Board of Optometry (reappointment)

McCullough is an optometrist in Jonesboro. Prior to opening his own practice, he served as an optometry officer at the National Naval Medical Center. McCullough is a past president of the Georgia Optometric Association and a committee member of the Southern Education Congress. He earned an associate’s degree from Middle Georgia College, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a doctorate of Optometry from the Southern College of Optometry. McCullough and his wife, Carol, have two children. They reside in Fayetteville.

Betty Ann Lindsey, State Board of Optometry (reappointment)

Lindsey is a member of the advisory board for Ruth’s Cottage for Abused Women and the Patticake House for Abused Children. She is a guild member for the Tifton Museum of Arts & Heritage Guild. Lindsey has served as a Sunday school and Bible school teacher at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. She is a graduate of the Art Institute of Atlanta. Lindsey and her husband, Tommy, have two children and one grandchild. They reside in Tifton.

David Johnson, State Board of Registration of Used Car Dealers and Motor Vehicle Part Dealers

Johnson is owner and a partner of Cherokee Auto Group, LLC. He previously owned and operated three Dairy Queen locations and multiple AT&T retail stores. Johnson is a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Independent Automotive Dealer’s Association and serves as treasurer. He and his wife, Lisa, have two children. They reside in Canton.

Sandra Gresham, State Board of Registration of Used Car Dealers and Motor Vehicle Part Dealers

Gresham retired in May after a career in the finance industry. She sold her company to American Credit Acceptance in 2010 and worked with the company until her retirement. Gresham resides in Atlanta.

Thomas Mobley, State Board of Registration of Used Car Dealers and Motor Vehicle Part Dealers

Mobley is the co-owner and auctioneer for West Wood Auto Auction. He is also the owner and operator of the Mid-Georgia Auctioneer School. Mobley has been a licensed and active auctioneer for more than 23 years. He previously owned and operated Health Star Ambulance Service. Mobley and his wife, Neysa, have 5 children, 15 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren. They reside in Moreland.

Jimmy Thomas, Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilties

Thomas is the sheriff of Pike County. He is the regional vice president of District 4 of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association. Thomas is a graduate of the Clayton County Law Enforcement National Academy and the FBI Academy. He and his wife, Margaret, have three children and two grandchildren. They reside in Concord.

Alex Lehocky, Small Business Compliance Advisory Panel

Lehocky is the program manager for environmental and occupational safety for the Board of Regents’ Office of Real Estate & Facilities. He has more than twenty years of progressive technical and management experience in regulatory compliance, remediation, exposure assessment for industry and higher education. Lehocky is active with several local and national professional groups. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a master’s degree in Environmental Health from the University of Georgia. Lehocky and his wife, Karen, have two children.