Governor Deal Appoints 10 to State Boards

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Monday, May 7th, 2018

Steve Taylor, Board of Community Affairs
Taylor is the commissioner of Bartow County. He owned and operated Taylor Farm Supply for 35 years. Taylor is the chairman of the Development Authority of Bartow County and an original member of the Bartow-Cartersville Joint Development Authority. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Reinhardt University. He and his wife, Sandy, have three children and seven grandchildren. They reside in Cartersville.

Ronald Garrard, Board of Economic Development (reappointment)
Garrard is the president and CEO of Garrard Group, a commercial construction and real estate development business. He is the chairman of the board of directors for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. Garrard sits on the board of trustees for Georgia Gwinnett College and the board of directors for the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Building Science from Auburn University. Garrard and his wife, Dana, are charter members of North Point Community Church. They have one child and live in Duluth.

Randall Hatcher, Board of Economic Development (reappointment)
Hatcher is president of MAU Workforce Solutions. He sits on the boards of directors for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Augusta Tomorrow. Hatcher also sits on the boards for Alliance for Fort Gordon and the World Presidents’ Organization Christian Fellowship Network. He wrote a book called “The Birth of a New Workforce.” Hatcher earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Marilee, have three children and two grandchildren. They reside in Augusta.

Rusty Paul, Board of Economic Development
Paul is the mayor of Sandy Springs. He was previously the assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Paul is a former chairman of the Sandy Springs Development Authority and a former state senator. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Samford University. Paul and his wife, Jan, have five children and four grandchildren. They attend Holy Innocents Episcopal Church and live in Sandy Springs.

Joe Hatfield, Board of Natural Resources
Hatfield is the vice chairman of Fieldale Farms Corporation. He sits on the boards of directors for Peach State Bank & Trust and the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation. Hatfield is a trustee for the North Georgia Technical College Foundation. He is a member of the National Chicken Council and the Georgia Poultry Federation. Hatfield earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of North Georgia, attended Purdue University for management training participated in a compositing techniques program at the University of Maryland. Hatfield and his wife, Rosalyn, have one child and reside in Clarkesville.

Lawrence Stagg, Georgia Circuit Public Defenders Supervisory Panel
Stagg is a criminal defense and civil litigation attorney. He is a former member of the board of governors and a current member of the State Disciplinary Board’s Investigative Panel for the State Bar of Georgia. Stagg earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Bambi, have three children and live in Ringgold.

Rep. Terry Rogers, Georgia Film, Music and Digital Advisory Commission
Rogers represents the 10th District in the Georgia House of Representatives. He is the vice chairman of the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee, the Economic Development and Tourism Committee and the Public Safety Appropriations subcommittee. Rogers is also a member of the Rules, Defense and Veteran Affairs, Human Relations and Aging and World Congress Center Authority Oversight committees. He serves as the governor’s floor leader and a house representative to the Legislative Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee. Rogers is an owner and a managing partner of Diversified Technologies. He sits on the board of trustees for Tallulah Falls School and the board of directors for the Hilliard A. Wilbanks Foundation. Rogers was named to Georgia Trend Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Georgians” list in 2014. He attends First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville and serves as an Elder. Rogers and his wife, Laura, have five children and four grandchildren. They reside in Clarkesville.

Jeff A. Lawson, Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board (reappointment)
Lawson is the president of J. Lawson & Associates, LLC. He holds commercial and residential designations from the Appraisal Institute. Lawson is also an approved faculty member through the Appraisal Institute. He is a former chapter president of the Atlanta area for the Appraisal Institute and co-authored an appraisal textbook. Lawson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky. He and his wife, Amy, have three children and live in Gainesville.

Henry R. Craig, Rural Hospital Stabilization Committee
Craig represents District 4 on the Board of Commissioners for Baldwin County. He is a veteran of the United States Army and served multiple assignments in the United States, Europe and Asia, including 345 combat flying hours in Vietnam. Craig is retired from Continental Airlines. He is a former member of the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission. Craig earned a degree from Georgia Military College, a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a master’s degree from Webster University. He and his wife, Celia, have two children and four grandchildren. They reside in Milledgeville.

E. Jewelle Johnson, State Personnel Board (reappointment)
Johnson is the assistant general counsel and chief employment counsel for Graphic Packaging International, LLC. She is a former partner at Fisher Phillips. Johnson is a member of the planning committee for the 2018 Women, Influence & Power in Law Conference and sits on the board of directors for the National Employment Law Council and. She is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta. Johnson earned bachelor’s degrees in Arts and Philosophy from Miami University and a law degree from Duke University. She lives in Mableton.