Governor Perdue Announces Executive Appointments

ATLANTA - Governor Sonny Perdue announced today the following executive appointments.

Environmental Advisory Council

Zackary R. Aultman, 54, Albany , GA - Aultman is vice president of Flint River Services, Inc., a company that specializes in cold storage, dry storage, refrigerated warehousing, public refrigerated warehousing, distribution, and logistics services.  The company serves as a support system for processors and manufacturers across the United States .  In addition, Aultman is a partner at Fleming Insurance and formerly served as a partner in Doles Peanut Co.  He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia .  He and his wife, Debi, have three children.

Robert P. Barr, 55, Carrollton , GA - Barr is chairman of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners.  He previously served as assistant city manager of Carrollton and city manager of the city of Villa Rica . Barr is chairman of the Institute of Georgia Environmental Leadership Board , chairman of the Department of Community Affairs Urban Nonpoint Source Reduction Program, a member of the Board of Managers for the Association of County Commissioners and a member of the West Area Regional Radio System.  Barr also serves as vice-chairman of the ACCG Self-Insured Workers' Compensation Board. Barr earned a Bachelor of Arts from West Georgia . He is married to Patricia Barr. 

Gregory Whitfield Blount, 48, Atlanta , GA - Blount is an attorney and partner at Troutman Sanders, LLP.  He previously served as the managing member of Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLC.  He chairs the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Subcommittee on Water Quality and serves as a member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Committee. Blount is a member of the American Bar Association's section on Natural Resources, Environmental and Energy Law, and serves as a member of the Agricultural Subcommittee. He serves as an officer for the Environmental Law section of the State Bar of Georgia and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia.  In addition, he is president and a sitting board member of the St. Therese House for the Mentally Ill. Blount is a contributing writer for the Georgia and Southeastern Environmental News. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from North Georgia College and State University and a Juris Doctorate from Mercer University .  Blount and his wife, Jane, have two children.

Bruce C. Coles, 60, Duluth , GA - Coles serves as chairman, president, and CEO of MACTEC, Inc., and president of MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc., which provides engineering, consulting, and design services worldwide.  Before MACTEC merged with Law Companies Group, Inc. (LAW), Coles was chairman, president, and CEO of LAW.  During his 39 years in the engineering and construction industry, he also served as chairman, president, and CEO of Stone & Webster, Inc.  Coles serves on the Board of Councilors of the Carter Center , the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Board of Advisors. Coles has received the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology's President's Award and the American Society of Civil Engineers' President's Medal.  He earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science from the University of Maine .  He and his wife, Joan, have two children.

Patrick Newman Corleto, 50, Atlanta , GA - Corleto is vice president and regional director of Project Development and State and Local Governmental Affairs for CH2M HILL.  He has 26 years of experience in marketing and business development with extensive experience in program and construction management for all industries.  Corleto has led marketing campaigns for numerous Capitol Improvement Programs, including Water Treatment Facilities in Forsyth and Rockdale Counties as well as Master Planning and Program Management for Clayton and Richmond Counties .  He is a member of the Southeast Watershed Forum, the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and is an active member in environmental issues for the Regional Leadership Forum.  He earned a Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University and is a graduate of the University of Michigan 's Business School Leadership Program and Mergers and Acquisitions Program.  Corleto has one daughter.

David Hankerson, 59, Marietta , GA - Hankerson has served as county manager of Cobb County since 1993.  He is certified professional soil erosion and sediment control specialist and a certified public manager.  Hankerson is an alumnus of Leadership Cobb, a graduate of the Regional Leadership Institute, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta and a member of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia 's Natural Resources and Environmental Policy Committee.  He serves on the Cobb County YMCA Board of Directors and the Southern Polytechnic State University Foundation Board.  Hankerson is the past recipient of the Jerry Singer Award, the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Freedom Award, the NAACP Citizenship Award and was one of five Georgians to receive the Carl Vinson Institute's Excellence in Public Service Award.  He earned a Bachelor of Science from Fort Valley State College and a Juris Doctorate from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law.  He and his wife, Janet, have four children.

Peter T. Madsen, 51, Fayetteville , GA - Madsen is vice president of CH2M HILL and is responsible for the leadership of the ecosystems market segment.  He is responsible for major water resource and environmental projects as well as major business endeavors in support of the U.S. Army. Prior to his work in the private sector, Madsen was a member of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he oversaw numerous projects as a Commander and Division Engineer in the South Atlantic Division and South Pacific Divisions. In addition, he served as the executive officer to the chief of engineers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Washington , D.C.   Madsen is a fellow, two-time regional vice president and post president of the Society of American Military Engineers.  He is a member of the Association of the U.S. Army and a member of the Army Engineer Association.  He earned a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy , a Masters in Military Strategy from the National Defense University , and a Master of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Madsen and his wife, Linda, have three children. 

Ken Morrow, 52, Duluth , GA - Morrow is president and general manager for Sod Atlanta and President of Athletic Fields, a specialized construction company building sports fields.  In addition, he is co-founder of the Turfgrass Group, a company focused on the production and marketing of TifBlair, a Georgia-developed centipede.  Morrow has served as president of the Georgia Turfgrass Association, treasurer of the Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association, secretary-treasurer of the Georgia Sod Producers Association and president of the Georgia Crop Improvement Association. He is a member of Governor Perdue's Agriculture Advisory Council.  He earned his undergraduate degree and Master of Science from Auburn University .  Morrow and his wife, Pam, have two sons and one daughter-in-law.

Stephan Dwight Nygren, 59, Palmetto, GA - Nygren is the managing partner of Serenbe Development, a corporation currently developing the first hamlet in the Chattahoochee Hill Country district.  In addition, he owns and manages the Serenbe Bed and Breakfast and Conference Center , also located in the Chattahoochee Hill Country.  Prior to his development experience, Nygren founded Peasant Restaurants, which grew to 34 operations in eight states under his ownership.  He is the current chairman of the Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance, a regional land use initiative covering 65,000 acres in a four county region. Nygren is past chairman of the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Nygren attended the University of Colorado .  He and his wife, Marie, have three children.

Necholus " Nick " Ogden, 58, Rincon , GA - Ogden is president of Ogden Consulting and Construction, Inc., a company established to facilitate environmentally practical solutions to conflicts between environment laws and site development proposals, including associated development and implementation of stream/wetland mitigation plans and banks.  Ogden serves as the outreach coordinator for the Coastal Rivers Waters Planning and Policy Center at Georgia Southern University. He previously served as chief of the Regulatory Branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Savannah District and district conservationist for the US Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service. Ogden also served in the United States Army in Vietnam and South Korea . He earned his Bachelor of Science from Fort Valley State University and completed graduate studies in Public Administration at Georgia State University .  Ogden and his wife, Dorothy, have two children.

Jeffrey Donnie Pope, 43, Statesboro , GA - Pope is president and co-owner of Pope Construction Co., Inc., a general contracting firm engaged in commercial construction.  Pope also serves as Class I Director of First Southern National Bank, and serves on the Coastal Conservation state board and the Saint Catherine's Sport Fishing Club board.  He has served on the Georgia Southern University Advisory Board for the Department of Building Construction Technology.  Pope is chairman of the Peach State Reds Initiative Program, and is a youth softball and baseball coach.  He earned a Bachelor of Science from Georgia Southern University.  Pope and his wife, Anita, have two children.

Walter Frank Reeves, 54, Decatur , GA - Reeves recently retired from the Horticulture Department of the University of Georgia 's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.  He continues to host the weekly “Lawn & Garden Show with Walter Reeves” on WSB-AM and is presently taping gardening segments for “DIY's Garden Sense.”   Reeves hosts “ Gardening in Georgia , ” a weekly television show on Georgia Public Television.   In addition, he writes weekly “Garden Tips” and “Questions and Answers” columns for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and has co-authored several books about gardening.  Reeves is a vice president and a long-time member of the Board of Directors of Southface, a non-profit energy education and sustainable living organization.  He serves as a member of the Garden Writers of America, a member of the Board of Trustees of The Southeastern Flower Show and the Cliff Valley School advisory board of trustees.  He was the recipient of the Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association's 2002 Pioneer Award.  Reeves earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Georgia .  He and his wife, Sandi, have one son.

Merry Tyler Tipton, 56, St. Simon's Island , GA - Tipton is vice president of Corporate Communications for the Sea Island Company, a resort located on Georgia 's barrier island.  She has been with the company since 1991, and has served in various capacities including vice president of marketing and communications manager.  Tipton serves as commissioner of the Glynn County Airport Commission, president of the Coastal Georgia Historical Society, a member of the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Business Communicators.  She earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia .  She and her husband, Bill, have one daughter.

Doyle Weltzbarker, 70, Quitman , GA - Weltzbarker is president and owner of Brooksco Farms, Inc., senior partner in Brooksco Dairy, LLC., and president and owner of West End Milling, Inc.  He is chairman of the board of the Heritage Community Bank and vice chairman of the board of ABC Bancorp.  Weltzbarker serves as a director of the Georgia Agribusiness Council and a director and officer of Southeast Milk, Inc., a milk marketing cooperation that serves Florida , Georgia , and parts of Alabama and Tennessee .  In addition, he served for four years in the United States Air Force.  He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia .  He and his wife, Frankie, have two children and five grandchildren.

Connie C. Wiggins, 54, Buford , GA - Wiggins has served as executive director of Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful since 1985.  She has worked in the environmental education and solid waste field for 20 years as an elected official, coordinator, and CEO.  Wiggins serves as Gwinnett County 's Solid Waste and Recycling Director.  She is responsible for solid waste planning, overseeing private waste haulers, developing and implementing countywide recycling programs and operating the county's recycling facility.  Wiggins is also co-founder and chair of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership, chair of the Georgia Watershed Dams Committee, past president of the Gwinnett Rotary Club and district supervisor of the Gwinnett County Soil & Water Conservation District.  Wiggins serves on the Board of Directors of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia. She was recently elected to Keep America Beautiful's National Board of Directors and was honored with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' “Rock” Howard Award.  Governor Perdue appointed Wiggins to the Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation Stakeholder Advisory Board in 2004.  Wiggins and her husband, Tom, have two children and two grandchildren.