Governor Perdue Announces Executive Appointments

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

Board of Community Affairs

Stephan "Steve" Dwight Nygren, 61, Palmetto, 13th Congressional District – Nygren is the managing partner of Serenbe Development, a corporation developing the first hamlet in the Chattahoochee Hill Country district.  In addition, he owns and manages the Serenbe Bed and Breakfast and the Serenbe Conference Center, also located in the Chattahoochee Hill Country.  Nygren also founded Peasant Restaurants, which has grown to 34 operations in eight states under his ownership.  He is past chairman of the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association, the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance and the Chattahoochee Hill Country Concurrence.  Nygren attended the University of Colorado.  He and his wife, Marie, have three children.

Z. Shaw Blackmon III, 33, Warner Robins, Member at Large – Blackmon serves as the president and CEO of National Bank Products.  He also served as a district sales manager, information officer and chief operating officer for the company. Blackmon is a vice chairman of the Warner Robins Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Middle Georgia Technical College Foundation.  He is a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, Sunmark Bank, the Museum of Aviation, the Houston County Heritage Foundation and Central Baptist Church of Warner Robins.  Blackmon earned a bachelor's degree in management information systems from the University of Georgia.  

Board of Corrections

Carl L. Franklin, 66, Dunwoody, 4th Congressional District – Franklin is a self-employed businessman.  He retired from the U.S. Department of Labor after 17 years of service.  He is a member of the executive committee and the 120 Club of the DeKalb County Republican Party, a member of the National Black Republican Association, a member of the Georgia Republican Party Foundation and a Selective Service System local board member.  He served in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged in 1965.  Franklin earned a bachelor's degree from Alabama State University and a master's degree from the University of Montevallo.  He and his wife Jacquilyn, have one grown child and one grandchild. 

Board of Human Resources

Jean R. Sumner, M.D., 54, Wrightsville, 12th Congressional District– Sumner is a physician in private practice at Washington County Internal Medicine where she has an emphasis on geriatrics and long term care.  She is a member of the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners, the State Medical Education Board, the American College of Physicians, the Georgia Geriatrics Society, and is chairman of the Johnson County Board of Health.  She served as president of the East Georgia Medical Society and the Georgia Medical Directors Association.  Sumner earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in nursing from the Medical College of Georgia and earned a medical degree from the Mercer University School of Medicine.  She and her husband, Joe, have two grown children.