Deal appoints nine to boards

Nancy B. Denson, Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council
Denson is the mayor of Athens-Clarke County. She sits on the Georgia Municipal Association Board of Directors. Denson served as the Clarke County Tax Commissioner for 25 years and previously sat on the Athens City Council. She is also a former member of the Georgia Association of Tax Officials and the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. Denson helped to establish the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia and a public manager certificate from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Denson has four children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She resides in Athens.

Sheriff Mitch Ralston, Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council
Ralston is serving his third term as the sheriff of Gordon County. Ralston is also a member of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, the National Constitutional Officers’ Association, the Young Farmers Association and the Red Carpet Cattlemen’s Association. He is also a member of the legislative timber task force, the asset forfeiture study group and the Governor’s Law Enforcement Task Force. Ralston is active with the Yaarab Shriners and Coosawattee Masonic Lodge #306. Ralston and his wife, Nikki, have three children and live in Calhoun.

Mike Register, Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council
Register is the chief of police for Cobb County and has more than 28 years of experience in law enforcement. He is also an adjunct instructor at Columbus State University. Register served in the U.S. Army Special Forces for 22 years, including combat operations in Afghanistan. He is a member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Register earned a master’s degree in Public Administration and is in the dissertation phase of earning a doctoral degree in Policy, Terrorism and Mediation. He is also a graduate of Northwestern University’s Staff and Command Course and the Georgia Command College. Register and his wife, Keisha, reside in Dallas.

Mike Mixon, State Board of Accountancy (reappointment)
Mixon is a certified public accountant and the managing partner of Mixon, Mixon, Brown & Tench, CPAs. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Georgia Society of CPAs. Mixon is the chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee of Southern Bank & Trust. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Management from Georgia Southern University. Mixon and his wife Nancy, have two children and two grandchildren. They live in Clarkesville.

Jerry Colwell, State Well Water Standards Council (reappointment)
Colwell is the founder of Middle Georgia Water Systems. He is the director of the Georgia Association of Groundwater Professionals and sits on the board of directors for United Bank in Zebulon. Colwell is a former director of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce and has eight years of experience with the Development Authority of Pike County. He attends Christ Chapel Church and is a member of the finance committee. Colwell and his wife Sara Beth, have three children and four grandchildren. They reside in Zebulon.

Greg Grosch, State Well Water Standards Advisory Council (reappointment)
Grosch is the manager of Grosch Irrigation Company in Dublin. He is a past president of the Georgia Association of Groundwater Professionals. Grosch is a nationally certified well driller and is licensed in seven states. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Georgia Southern University. Grosch and his wife, Christy, have three children and live in Dublin.

Dan Elder III, State Well Water Standards Advisory Council (reappointment)
Elder is the president of Oconee Well Drillers and North Georgia Water Systems. He is a member of the Georgia Association of Groundwater Professionals, the National Groundwater Association, the Georgia Rural Water Association, the American Water Works Association and the Georgia Association of Water Professionals. Elder earned a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Ellen, have two children and reside in Watkinsville.

Andrew Pippin, State Well Water Standards Advisory Council
Pippin is the statewide director of business development for Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc. and previously served as the city manager of Hampton. He is a member of the of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, the Oconee Chamber of Commerce and the Oconee Capital Improvement Plan Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Pippin previously sat on the boards of directors for the United Way of Metro Atlanta and the Henry County Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development and the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute. Pippin earned a bachelor’s degree from Clayton State University. He and his wife, Amy, have two children and live in Athens.

Milton Thompson, State Well Water Standards Advisory Council (reappointment)
Thompson is the vice president of Bishop Well and Pump Service. He is licensed as a well driller, a master electrician and a public water system operator. Thompson is active with the Exchange Club of Tifton and attends First United Methodist Church in Tifton. He earned an associate degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a bachelor’s degree in management from Valdosta State University. He and his wife, Susan, have two sons and reside in Tifton.