Robert P. “Bob” Johnston is the President and Chief Executive Officer for MEAG Power. He is also Chairman of the Large Public Power Council, an organization comprised of the 24 largest public power utilities in the United States. In addition, he is Chairman of Georgia Allies, a collaborative marketing partnership that promotes the state’s business development.

Bob has over 25 years of experience in the electric utility industry. At MEAG Power, he has held management positions including Manager, Engineering; Vice President, Engineering and
Operations; and Executive Vice President, Operations. Additionally, Johnston was past Chairman and is presently serving on the Board of Directors for The Energy Authority (TEA) located in Jacksonville, Florida. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, American Public Power Association, Colectric Partners, Inc., Public Power, Inc., and Georgia Allies.

Johnston received his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1978 and his professional engineering license in 1983. Professional memberships include the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Power Engineering Society and Industry Applications Society.

Ed Moon received his B.S. in Human Resource Management from Faulkner University.
In 2001 he became City Manager of City of Bowdon, Georgia until 2005.

Ed Moon received his B.S. in Human Resource Management from Faulkner University.
In 2001 he became City Manager of City of Bowdon, Georgia until 2005.

Today, Ed Moon currently serves as City Manager for the City of West Point.
He is married to Michelle Moon and has three daughters ages 18, 14 and 8.
In his spare time he enjoys construction projects, kayaking, and spending time with family.

Mr. James Blair is a Senior Business Development Manager in the Global Commerce Division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the state agency that assists companies in establishing or expanding a business presence in Georgia. Mr. Blair is responsible for marketing Georgia as a potential business location to companies by providing information and business location services to executives requiring a business presence in the Southeastern USA. Mr. Blair was Director of Georgia’s European Office in Brussels before returning to Georgia last year. For 18 years, Mr. Blair lead Georgia’s economic development efforts in attracting European corporate investment to Georgia, as well as supporting existing European investors in their Georgia expansion plans. Mr. Blair has represented Georgia as a guest speaker at a number of prestigious US investment conferences organized by “Capital” magazine in Germany, KBC Bank in Belgium, the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Germany, The Flemish Trade and Investment Office, the Paris Chamber of Commerce and the Longueuil Development agency in Montreal.

In 20 years of working in the field of economic development, Mr. Blair has helped locate approximately 120 European projects in Georgia whose subsidiaries today employ some 6,000 persons. These include large companies like JCB, Porsche, UCB, Randstad and Saint Gobain, as well as smaller companies like Balta Carpets, Hansgrohe, Knapp Logistics, Perkins Engines and WIKA Instruments.
The son of a US Army officer teaching at the time at Kansas State University in
Manhattan, Mr. Blair is an Army brat who lived in Kansas, Alaska, Washington and Kentucky. The son of parents born and raised in central South Carolina, Mr. Blair attended public schools in South Carolina starting at the age of 13.
Mr. Blair taught public high school in Anderson, South Carolina, from 1979 – 1982.

Prior to joining Georgia Economic Development in 1988, Mr. Blair worked for Citizens & Southern National Bank (now Bank of America) in Atlanta where he was responsible for European corporate relationships. Functional responsibilities included lending, business development and customer relations.
Mr. Blair serves on the Board and the French- American and Swedish-American
Chambers of Commerce, as well as the Canadian American Society; he serves on the Advisory Board of the “Transatlantic Studies Program” of the Georgia university system and is a member of the Georgia Economic Development Association.

Mr. Blair has an international MBA from the University of South Carolina and speaks German, Dutch and French.

As president and owner of Lee & Pickels Drugs, Inc. for the last 37 years, as well as president of Satinwood LLC Land Development Company in Coastal Florida since 2004, Mr. Curtis Pickels has always played an active role in civic organizations. Having served as a member of the Quitman City Commission throughout the past, he has served as the Chairman for the past two years.  He is also currently the Chairman of the Brooks County Hospital Authority and Chairman of the Citizens National Bank of Quitman. Curtis also serves as a board member of the Board of Trustees for Mercer University in Macon, and the Board of Visitors for the Southern School of Pharmacy in Atlanta.

Mr. Pickels served on the Brooks Co. Board of Education from 1977-1986, and served as chairman from 1980 to 1986.  He was an active member of the Kiwanis Club from 1970-1983. He has been a member of the Quitman-Brooks County Chamber of Commerce since 1971, and was awarded the Gold Star Award for Distinguished Citizen in 1997.

Curtis studied pre-pharmacy at the Norman Junior College in Norman Park, Georgia, before pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree from the Southern School of Pharmacy in Atlanta. He is active in various roles, such as deacon and Sunday school teacher and director, at the First Baptist Church in Quitman.

Danny Herring is the City Manager in Quitman, Georgia. He has held this position for the past 12 years, and has become a great asset to our small community since moving here from Florida in 1994.

Prior to becoming City Manager, Danny served as Chief of Police for two years in Quitman, proceeded by two years as Chief with the Greenville, Florida Police Force.  He also taught Criminal Justice at the University of North Florida for three years. His nine-year tenure with the Florida Highway Patrol, in addition to his extensive experience in local law enforcement, has provided Danny with exceptional leadership qualities that have proven vital to his position as City Manager.

Danny has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Management from LaSalle University. He is a former member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and has been awarded numerous times for exemplary service within his career.

Donny O’Barr is the County Administrator for Brooks County, a position held since February 2006.  In his position, Donny directs and coordinates the overall management of County government in accordance with policies set by the Board of County Commissioners. He also coordinates the activities of elected departments and those departments with independent Boards. Mr. O’Barr also acts at Budget Officer of Brooks Co., and reviews proposed budgets submitted by all County departments before preparing and submitting the final budget for consideration.

Donny’s management skills stem from years of experience. As a commissioned officer in the Georgia Army National Guard, he retired in 1998 at the rank of Colonel. He describes the journey from the rank of Private to a C.O. as an “experience [that] has enhanced my ability to maintain control, function independently, and make decisions quickly and effectively”.

In addition to his military service, Mr. O’Barr has held several management positions with different businesses. He worked as an Administrative Officer for the Federal Civil Service for ten years, the Director of Operation for Ingram Investments for six years, and had a brief stint as the Director of Retail Operations for Goodwill Industries before coming to work in Brooks County.

Donny received his A.A. in Business Administration from Middle Georgia College before pursuing a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southwestern University in Americus. He has undergone training with the Georgia Academy of Economic Development as well as a County Commissioner Training Program in addition to his extensive military education.

Scott McMurray is a Senior Project Manager for Global Commerce at the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), the marketing arm of the state of Georgia. He develops business relationships with companies both international and domestic and recruits those companies to establish facilities in Georgia. His particular niche is the Japanese market.

Mr. McMurray is on the board of directors for the Japan-America Society of Georgia.

Mr. McMurray joined GDEcD in 2005 as a Project Manager.  Previously, he held management positions with Mitsubishi Warehouse California Corp. and Overseas Operations Export Management, both of Los Angeles, CA. From 1988 until 1993, Mr. McMurray worked as both a public high school English teacher and college instructor in Miyazaki, Japan. From 1993 until 1996, he held a position as an Import Manager for a retail store chain in southwest Japan.

A native of North Andover, MA, Mr. McMurray holds bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and in Economics and an M.A. in English Literature from Emory University. Additionally, he holds an associate’s degree in the Japanese Language from Southern Japan International College in Miyazaki, Japan. Mr. McMurray, his wife Robin and dog “Scratch” reside in Atlanta, Ga.

Peggy Walton is Director of Workforce Initiatives in the Center for Workforce Success (CWS), the workforce-development arm of The Manufacturing Institute, the education and research arm of the National Association of Manufacturers.  As the Center’s director, Peggy is primarily involved in the strategic planning and implementation of the Dream It. Do It. Manufacturing Careers Campaign, a grassroots, economic development initiative to recruit young talent to manufacturing.  She also works with the Workforce Innovation Network (WINs), the Building Sectoral Strategies with Employers (BSSE) partnership with the National Network of Sector Partners, and Business Champions projects.  Peggy has published numerous newspaper and magazine articles and currently writes the Center’s What’s Working e-newsletter.  She serves on the National Advisory Council of Corporate Voices for Working Families and the Technical Advisory Committee of SkillsUSA.   

Before coming to The Manufacturing Institute, Peggy worked with Central Georgia Technical College on adult education, and workforce and economic development.  She has an extensive background in corporate sales and sales management training, adult education, and business development.  Peg holds a B.A. from Mercer University, Macon, Georgia and pursued graduate work in Family Systems Therapy…an interest that she claims transfers nicely to the business environment!

As Senior Principal of Moran, Stahl & Boyer since 1994, Mr. Rhodes has directed numerous corporate consulting assignments related to headquarters, back offices, customer contact centers, distribution operations and industrial plants. Industries include: financial ser-vices,
insurance, transportation services, biotech and diverse manufacturing. He has also been responsible for economic development projects related to strategy development, target industry analysis, marketing tools and related activities for communities and their utility
partners in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New York,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and British Columbia.

Other Professional Experience
Mr. Rhodes worked for the General Electric Company in their Power Generation, Aerospace, and Engineered Plastics divisions as well as in Corporate Marketing in roles including plant engineering, environmental engineering, marketing and sales management during an 18-
year career.

Presentations and Articles
Mr. Rhodes has written a series of articles and white papers related to community economic development growth and strategy, university towns, relocating headquarters operations, siting call centers, location strategies for high tech companies, U.S. innovation centers, and
related topics.

He has made presentations to CoreNet and its predecessor organization IDRC along with the International Economic Development Council, Utility Economic Development Association and regional and state-wide conferences in the U.S. and Canada. He is currently a member of IEDC.

Education
• BS – Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
• Master of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

Tina Herring is the Director of the Brooks County Development Authority in Quitman, Georgia. She was approached by the Board of Directors and accepted the position in April 2007.  Since joining the BCDA, she has worked diligently to promote economic development in Brooks County through the attraction of new businesses and aiding existing industries in maintenance or expansion of their operations. This allows for new investment and quality job opportunities for the citizens of the community and region.

Prior to working at the BCDA, Tina worked at the South Georgia Regional Development Center (RDC), where she headed the grants department and assisted a nine-county region with State and Federal funding resources directly related to economic development and community improvement. Tina’s experience at the RDC has been a wonderful asset to Brooks County. Under her direction, she has accumulated three grant awards to her credit, totaling nearly $2 million dollars for the infrastructure of the new Brooks County Industrial Park.

Tina is a member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, South Georgia Partnership, South Regional Joint Development Authority, Quitman-Brooks County Airport Authority, and the Quitman-Brooks County Chamber of Commerce. She received her BA in Business Administration from Valdosta State University and has completed job training at the GA Academy of Economic Development and a short course for Economic Development at Georgia Tech’s Institute for Economic Development.

Buddy Holwell has served as the Chairman of the Board for the Brooks County Development Authority for the past three years, and has been a Board member for the past 15 years. As co-owner of Holwell-Fletcher Insurance Agency for the past 28 years, Buddy has always been active in the community. He is currently the President of the local chapter of the Kiwanis Club, as well as Director of Colony Bank in Quitman. Buddy has formerly served as Chair for the Quitman-Brooks County Recreation Board.  His involvement with the Quitman-Brooks County Chamber of Commerce has spanned a quarter of a century, when he was elected secretary of the Chamber.  In 1992 he served a term as President of the Chamber of Commerce.

Buddy attended Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, where he earned a B.A. in Psychology.  He has also undergone training through the Development Authority Board Member Basic Training Course with the Fanning Institute, an affiliate of the University of Georgia. His upbeat personality has done much to keep the spirit of innovation alive in Brooks County, and he is always willing to speak on behalf of his hometown with the press.

Mark J. James is the Principal and founder of ED Solutions, Inc, a firm dedicated to helping economic development organizations with the effective use of technology. ED Solutions, Inc. offers web site reviews, consulting services, training services and value added products to the
economic development profession. Mark is a reseller of a variety of technology tools for the profession, including site and building databases, contact management solutions and ED web tools. Mark is also a founder of Development Results, LLC, a leading firm in the provision of economic development web site metrics.

Mark’s has a client list of over 50 organizations and companies. As a leading trainer to the profession, last year alone, Mark instructed over 3000 ED practitioners on the use of technology. He has also served as an advisor on the development or redesign of some of the most effective economic development web sites in the profession including those for the British Midlands, Dallas, Nashville, TVA, Philadelphia, Dayton and the State of Washington.

Prior to starting ED Solutions, Inc. in Mark was director of economic development for American Electric Power (AEP). AEP is one of the largest investor-owned electric utility companies in the United States, serving portions of 11 states, from Michigan to Texas.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science degree from Oregon State University in Corvallis. He also is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program. Mark is an avid runner and multi-sport enthusiast and the proud parent of two great kids, aged 16 and 20.

Daryl Ingram is the managing director of economic development for MEAG Power (Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia). Daryl has over 25 years of diverse experience in the electric utility industry. MEAG Power is the United States largest Public Power Joint Action Agency, providing wholesale electric energy to 49 of Georgia’s municipals.

At MEAG Power Daryl is responsible for the planning, implementation and management of statewide economic development activities. He and his staff actively assist companies in locating new industries throughout the entire state of Georgia. MEAG Power’s economic development group works closely with various community leaders in efforts of improving relations with existing industries and providing consultation on community marketing strategies. In addition to his work in Economic Development, he previously managed MEAG Power’s Major Accounts section, which included New Business and Single Point of Contact activities with many of Georgia’s leading companies.

As a native of Georgia, Daryl has actively been involved in Georgia’s utility industry since 1982. Prior to his employment with MEAG Power, Daryl served as Electric Director at the City of Cartersville. His responsibilities included the direction and financial over-site of the municipals electrical distribution and fiber optic systems.

Business Affiliations
Board seat Georgia Academy of Economic Development, Chairman — Advisory Board Member Georgia Department of Economic Development — Working Partner Georgia Allies Corporation – Member; Georgia Economic Developers Association, Public Policy Committee, Past Board Member — Advisory Committee QuickStart — Member; German American Chamber — Member; British American Business Group — Member; Industrial Asset Management Council — Member; Canadian/American Society — Member; Japanese American Society of Georgia — Member; Technology Association of Georgia — Member; National Association of Manufactures, Member.

Personal Data • Resident of Georgia 46 years • Married to high school sweetheart, Lisa (McWilliams) Ingram
• Two children:	Mallory Ingram — Sophomore, University of Georgia
	Cole Ingram — Junior, Kennesaw Mountain High School
• Member, First Baptist Church of Woodstock

Jim Ewing is Division Director of Recruitment & Existing Industry for the Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). He is responsible for developing and implementing Georgia’s statewide industrial recruitment and existing industry programs, with emphasis on new industry recruitment, existing industry expansion and business development.

Division responsibilities include marketing Georgia’s industrial assets to prospects, managing site location projects, providing assistance to new and expanding companies, creating export opportunities and performing various community development and public relations functions. The Global Commerce Division of GDEcD is responsible for all department programs that provide direct services to companies.

Ewing came to GDEcD from the Georgia Forestry Commission in 1983. He is a Registered Forester and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1973 and 1977 with degrees in Zoology and Land Management. After graduation, he worked for the Georgia Forestry Commission as a Management Forester in McRae, Georgia and later in Augusta and Stone Mountain. From 1981 to 1983, he served as Staff Forester for the Forestry Commission’s Atlanta office, with responsibility for government affairs, personnel recruitment, personnel management, employee training and public relations.

Ewing worked with the Forestry Commission for six years before joining GDEcD, where he developed and implemented a successful forest industry-specific marketing and recruitment program. After 1986, he worked as a Project Manager in the Industry and International Divisions and served in various management positions. During his years at GDEcD he has acquired a broad range of experience in project management, incentives negotiation, industrial site engineering, site development and environmental permitting.

Ewing has been an active member of a number of national, regional and state professional organizations, including the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Georgia Forestry Association and the Society of American Foresters. He is a 1993 alumnus of Leadership Georgia. A native of Augusta, Georgia he is a member of Buckhead Community Church and resides in Sandy Springs.

Mr. Lytle has the designated leadership role for recruiting Kia suppliers to Georgia. In that role he leads a focused, highly experienced team of professional statewide economic developers who support the location decision process and facilitate site and building searches for companies with an interest in locating their facilities in Georgia.

Mr. Lytle has been with the Georgia Department of Economic Development for six years and has supported the location of more than 30 companies who have invested or will invest over $1,000,000,000.00 in Georgia. He has extensive experience with Korean companies and has successfully located Korean projects including, Hyundai Mobis, Dongwon Metals, Kumho Tire, Sewon Precision, LG Chem Industrial Materials and Sometech Optical Instruments.

Prior to coming to GDEcD Mr. Lytle had a diverse career as President and COO of a nationwide industrial construction company, Sr. VP of Business Development for a global engineering company, and Partner-General Manager of a residential custom cabinetry business. He has extensive experience in program management, training, human resources and contract management.

Mr. Lytle holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and has two adult children.

Dr. Humphreys is the Director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. The Selig Center is an endowed economic forecasting & market research center. Dr. Humphreys is a member of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors – the State of Georgia – and is a monthly columnist for Georgia Trend Magazine.

• Dr. Humphreys has published over 250 applied and academic studies regarding market research, economic forecasting, transportation, and economic development. In Georgia, Dr. Humphreys is best known for his detailed economic forecasts, but nationally he is best known for his detailed estimates of the spending power of African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans.
  
  
• In 2003, the editors of American Demographics selected Dr. Humphreys as a “Demographic Diamond” – one of the 25 market researchers who have made the most significant contributions to the understanding of consumer trends for business leaders over the last 25 years.
  
  
• The Georgia Economic Outlook, which is prepared and written by Dr. Humphreys, has twice received the Association for University Business and Economic Research’s Award for Excellence.
  
  
• Dr. Humphreys received his B.A. and Ph.D. (Economics) from the University of Georgia. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi.
  
  
• Dr. Humphreys consults with clients in the private and public sectors.