Governor Perdue Announces Appointments to State Boards and Commissions

Atlanta - Governor Sonny Perdue announced today the following appointments to State Boards and Commissions:

Board of Corrections

Robert Brown, 52, Lithonia, GA (4th Congressional District-Reappointment) - Brown is currently the President and CEO of R L Brown & Associates, Chair of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and Chair of the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority. He was awarded "Small Business Person of the Year" by the Metro Atlanta Chamber and "Mr. DeKalb" by the American Heart Association. Brown graduated magna cum laude from Tuskegee University, where he earned two degrees in Architecture. He and his wife, Barbara, have two children.

Board of Human Resources

Galen Cole, 49, Snellville, GA (7th Congressional District) - Cole currently serves the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as director of research and evaluation and is a faculty member at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. He holds undergraduate and advanced degrees and is a licensed professional counselor. Cole and his wife, Priscilla, have five children.

Georgia Auctioneers Commission

Norman Echols, 68, McDonough, GA (Reappointment) - Echols is currently a Charter Member of the Georgia Auctioneers Association. Previously he served on the Henry County Board of Commissioners. Echols was appointed and served on the Risk Management Agency for Georgia Counties. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia. Echols and his wife, Martha, have four children.

Terry Hansford, 59, Waycross, GA (Reappointment) - Hansford operates Hansford Realty & Auction Company and Southeast Georgia Appraisal Associates. He is a member of the National Auctioneer Association, the Georgia Auctioneer Association, and the Southeast Georgia Board of Realtors. Hansford holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Advance Research and has one daughter.

Charles Gay, 67, Rome, GA - Gay currently serves as an instructor at the Real Estate Career Institute in Alabama and as an instructor and director at the North Georgia School of Auction and Used Car Dealer Education in Rome. He is a member of the Georgia Auctioneer Association and is licensed to instruct auctions in eight southeastern states. Gay and his wife, Shelva, have three children.

Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Guy Ritter, 70, Clayton, GA (Structural Engineer Seat-Reappointment) - Ritter operates the firm of GF Ritter PE and is a member of the Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Ritter earned his undergraduate degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a masters degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He and his wife, Peggy Anne, have three children.

Doris Willmer, 54, Atlanta, GA (Civil Engineer Seat) - Willmer serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the firm of Willmer Engineering Inc. and is a member of the Southern Polytechnic Institute Industrial Advisory Board. She holds undergraduate and advanced degrees from the University of Illinois. She and her husband, Jim, have two children.

Board of Commissioners of the Commission on Equal Opportunity

Jeri Barr, 58, Canton, GA (Housing Industry Seat) - Barr is currently the CEO of Cobb Family Resources, a human services agency. Previously she served as the Director of Volunteer Cobb, a United Way service, and was chosen as the "Woman of Achievement" by the YWCA. Barr and her husband, Bob, are members of Hillside Methodist Church and have four children and six grandchildren.

Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission

Arthur "Art" Morris, 60, Atlanta, GA (At-Large Seat) - Morris is partner in the law firm of Morris Schneider Weiss and Kala, and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Security Council. Morris holds a B.S. degree from New York University School of Business, an M.B.A. from Adelphi University and received his J.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology's Kent School of Law. He and his wife, Hilda, have three children.

Georgia Commission on the Holocaust

Brian Rubenstein, 32, Atlanta, GA - Rubenstein serves as a regional advocacy manager for ten southeastern states as a member of the American Cancer Society's National Government Relations Department. He holds an undergraduate degree from Syracuse University. Rubenstein and his wife, Danielle, have one child.