Deal appoints 14 to boards

Joe T. Wood Jr., Board of Economic Development
Wood is the president and CEO of Turner, Wood & Smith in Gainesville. He is the chairman of the board for the United Community Bank in Hall County and the Hall Together Governance Council. Wood sits on the board of directors for the State Road & Tollway Authority. He is a former member of the Business Advisory Council for the Mike Cottrell College of Business at the University of North Georgia and a former chairman of the Gainesville Redevelopment Authority. Wood is a graduate of Leadership Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Georgia. Wood and his wife, Cathy, have four children and five grandchildren. They reside in Gainesville.

Don Balfour, Board of Governors of the George L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority
Balfour has been an executive with Waffle House for over 30 years. He sits on the boards of directors for the National Restaurant Association, the Georgia Restaurant Association and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Balfour also sits on the board of trustees and serves as chairman of the board of visitors for Georgia Gwinnett College. He is also a former president of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Balfour earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Bob Jones University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Balfour and his wife, Ginny, have one child and one grandchild. They live in Snellville.  

Randy Smith, Board of Human Services (reappointment)
Smith retired from Chick-fil-A following more than three decades of experience in operations, quality, systems engineering and strategic reinvestment. He has taught leadership courses in China and Vietnam with WinShape Camps International. Smith earned bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Management from Georgia College. He attends Johnson Ferry Baptist Church and serves as a deacon. Smith and his wife, Wendy, have three children and four grandchildren. They reside in Marietta.

Robert Lee Todd IV, Board of Trustees of the Georgia Firefighters Pension Fund (reappointment)
Todd is a general practice attorney in Greenville. He has 25 years of experience as local counsel to the Meriwether County School District and is a former adjunct instructor of Business Law at LaGrange College. Todd is a member of the Meriwether County Department of Public Safety. He was previously the chief of station one for the Meriwether County Volunteer Fire Department and the chief of the City of Greenville Volunteer Fire Department. Todd earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He and his wife, Martha Ann, have two children and two grandchildren. They live in Greenville.

Jamie Boyden, Bona Fide Coin Operated Amusement Machine Operator Advisory Board
Boyden works with Luck Bucks Gaming Group, a coin-operated amusement machines company. He sits on the board of directors for the Georgia Amusement and Music Operators Association. Boyden earned a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a master’s degree from the University of Toronto. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada’s Executive Development Program for Gaming. Boyden and his wife, Beth, have four children and reside in Atlanta.

Kenneth Brooks, Council on Aging (reappointment)
Brooks retired as the associate pastor of First Baptist Church in Cochran, where he focused on senior adult ministries. He serves as a trustee for the Baptist Village Retirement Communities and the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries. Brooks was also a member of the Disaster Relief Unit 1-F Feeding Team. He is a graduate of Brewton-Parker College, Georgia Southwestern State University and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Brooks and his wife, Rebecca, have two children and two grandchildren. They live in Cochran.

Maureen Kelly, Council on Aging (reappointment)
Kelly retired as the business and community liaison for the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Area Agency on Aging. She is the creator and president of the Thanks Mom & Dad Fund, an organization that supports programs and services for older adults. Kelly is a former president of the Georgia Gerontology Society and Georgia’s Older Worker Network. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Georgia. Kelly and her husband, Mike, have four children and nine grandchildren. They reside in Lawrenceville.

Ruth Lee, Council on Aging (reappointment)
Lee retired as the director of Oncology Services in Tifton. She was previously the executive director of Hospice of Central Georgia in Macon and the director of Hospice of Tift Area at the Tift Regional Medical Center. Lee was previously a member of the Georgia Department of Medical Assistance Hospice Advisory Committee and the Quad State Hospice Medicaid Advisory Committee. She earned a nursing diploma from the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University, a bachelor’s degree from Tift College and a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Albany State University. Lee and her husband, Michael, have three children and six grandchildren. They live in Tifton.

Tony Marshall, Council on Aging (reappointment)
Marshall is the president and CEO of the Georgia Health Care Association and the Georgia Center for Assisted Living. He has more than 28 years of experience in health care, including nearly two decades in association management. Marshall is a member of the Georgia Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias State Plan Advisory Council, Georgia’s Older Adults Cabinet and the Governor’s Complete Count Committee. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Virginia Tech. Marshall and his wife, Janet, reside in McDonough.

Ashton Windham, Council on Aging (reappointment)
Windham is the chief financial officer of WindCorp Management Services and operates a private home care service. He is a licensed nursing home administrator and real estate agent. Windham previously sat on the board of directors for the Georgia Health Care Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Auburn University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. Windham and his wife, Laurie, have two children and live in Macon.

Parker Glick, Georgia’s Employment First Council
Glick is the media and outreach coordinator for the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia. He sits on the board for the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities and is active with the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living’s youth leadership council. Glick earned an associate degree in Education from Daytona State College. He resides in Decatur.

Brandt White, Georgia’s Employment First Council
White is a certified peer specialist and a member of Cohort 5 of My Voice. My Participation. My Board. He is active with Stevens Creek Community Church in Martinez and volunteers with local animal shelters. White earned a degree in Business Technology from Augusta Technical College. He lives in Evans. 

Marvin Riggins, Georgia Firefighters Standards and Training Council
Riggins is the fire chief for the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department. He earned an associate degree in Public Administration, a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Governmental Public Administration from Georgia College. Riggins and his wife, Gloria Ann, have one child and attend Union Baptist Church in Macon.

Charles Bass Jr., State Board of Physical Therapy (reappointment)
Bass owns and practices at Bass Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Center, Inc. He is a member and a former president of the Dublin Exchange Club and the chairman for the annual pancake dinner for Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Bass previously sat on the boards of directors for the AFAC Lighthouse, Trinity Christian School and the Dublin Country Club. He and his wife, Denise, have two children and reside in Dublin.