Below are the seventeen white men and two white women serving as the Board of Directors for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Presumably, they are exemplars of what it means to "run government like a business" -- i.e. to generate profits for the principals by exploiting our natural resources without, one hopes, destroying them entirely.
Philip A. Wilheit, Jr., Chairman
Mr. Wilheit is a partner at Wilheit Packaging, LLC and owner of TargetMatz, LLC. He serves on the board of directors of the United Way of Hall County and John Jarrard Foundation. Wilheit is also a member of the Benedicts of Atlanta and sits on the Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia Advisory Board, the Greater Hall County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Natural Resources Foundation, the North Georgia Mountains Authority, and the North Georgia Junior Achievement Board. Wilheit earned his bachelor’s degree from Mercer University and a master’s in business from Georgia State University. He and his wife Addie, have one child.
Ray Lambert, Jr., Vice-Chairman
Mr. Lambert is president of the Lambert Company. He is a member of the North Georgia Mountains Authority, the Young Harris College Board of Trustees and former member of the Young Harris Alumni Board and the Henry County Employee Review Board. He earned an associate degree from Young Harris College and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He and his wife, Mary Lynn, have three children and one grandchild. They reside in McDonough.
William Bagwell, Jr. Secretary
Mr. Bagwell, managing member of Homestead Investments, LLC, is a fourth generation Hall County resident. In addition to Homestead Investments, LLC, he currently manages property for Northeast Georgia Real Estate. He is involved in a family timber operation, and previously owned and operated Homestead Farms, Canon, Georgia. While employed at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce in Gainesville, he held the offices of Vice President of Economic Development, Vice President of Existing Industry and Vice President of Government Affairs. Mr. Bagwell is a Deacon of the First Baptist Church in Gainesville and a member of the Gainesville and Hall County Economic Development Council. He also serves on the North Georgia Mountains Authority, the First Century Bank, Lanier Technical College Foundation and Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Mr. Bagwell is a member of the Georgia Board of Natural Resources. He is a graduate of Presbyterian College, Clinton, South Carolina. He, his wife and 2 children reside in Hall County, Georgia.
Nancy A. Addison
Ms. Addison is vice president and chief financial officer for Health Service Centers, Inc. She is also a corporate advisor for Southern Woods Plantation and a director of Majormatic, a South Africa-based company. Ms. Addison serves on the Greater Atlanta Chapter Board of Safari Club International, the North Georgia Mountains Authority, and the Safari Club International Foundation Advisory Board. She has three children and resides in Savannah.
Dwight Davis
Mr. Davis is a retired partner at the law firm of King & Spalding and an adjunct professor at Mercer University School of Law. He currently serves on the North Georgia Mountains Authority, and he also owns a pecan farm in Middle Georgia. Mr. Davis served in the U. S. Army for four years as an Airborne Ranger. He earned his bachelor’s degree from The Citadel and a law degree from Mercer University School of Law. Mr. Davis and his wife, Brenda, have two children and one grandchild and reside in Atlanta.
Dwight H. Evans
Mr. Evans is a founding partner in the Pendleton Consultant Group. Prior to Pendleton, he held the position of executive vice president and group president at Southern Company. He currently serves on the board of trustees at Piedmont College. He has chaired the New Orleans Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Southeastern Electric Exchange, the Mississippi Economic Council, the Mississippi Partnership for Economic Development and the Mississippi Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Mr. Evans earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Tech and a law degree from Atlanta Law School. He and his wife, Sharon, have two children and five grandchildren. They reside in Stone Mountain.
Walter A. Hudson
Mr. Hudson is President of Exxell Developers, Inc., where he has worked since 1983. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Douglasville. Hudson attended the University of Florida. He and his wife, Renee, have two children.
Duncan N. Johnson, Jr.
Mr. Johnson is president of Johnson Motor Company. He serves as a board member for Twelve Bands Cancer Charity, the Georgia Regents University community cancer board and is on the steering committee for Camp Rainbow, a pediatric cancer camp. He is an active member of the Augusta Exchange Club and is a graduate of the 2012 Class of Leadership Georgia. Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in Automotive Marketing from Northwood University. He and his wife, Kaci, have two children. They reside in Augusta.
Phyllis Thompson Johnson
Ms. Johnson and her husband own and manage a Forest Stewardship Tree Farm and Quail Hunting Preserve, known as Rocky Branch in Jeff Davis County. She also has over 30 years of experience as a Hospital Pharmacist. Johnson is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. She and her husband, Stephen, have two daughters. They are active members of First Baptist Church in Hazlehurst, and the Georgia Forestry Association.
Alfred W. “Bill” Jones, III
Mr. Jones is currently the chairman emeritus and senior adviser of Sea Island Acquisitions and is director of the Peter Millar Company. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Sea Island Company. Mr. Jones currently serves on the North Georgia Mountains Authority, and previously served as chairman of the Georgia Ports Authority Board and the Georgia Research Alliance Board of Trustees. He served as honorary chairman of the G8 Summit Host Committee and as a trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation and the Nature Conservancy of Georgia. Jones has received Ernest & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He has also been awarded the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Rock Howard Award. Mr. Jones earned a bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University. He and his wife, Sally, reside on St. Simons Island.
Robert D. Leebern, Jr.,
Mr. Leebern is a Principal with Troutman Sanders Strategies where he leads the federal affairs practice and serves on the firm's Board of Directors. He is a member and supporter of various civic and charitable organizations in Atlanta and Washington, DC and has been deeply involved in successful Presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and Gubernatorial campaigns. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia State Society of Washington, DC, Taste of the South, and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Rob served as Chief of Staff to The Honorable Saxby Chambliss during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. Appointed by Governor Nathan Deal, Rob serves on the North Georgia Mountains Authority Board, the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation Board, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. He and his wife Wendy are members of Northside United Methodist Church. They have two children – Ava and Briggs.
S. Aaron McWhorter
Mr. McWhorter is the owner and president of North Georgia Turf, Inc. and Sports Turf Company, Inc. He is a current member of the General Contractors Licensing Board and past president of the Georgia Turfgrass Association and the Georgia Sod Producers Association. He is a member of the North Georgia Mountains Authority, the West Georgia Regional Water Council, Carroll County Water Authority Board, the American General Contractors Association, and the Georgia Environmental Restoration Association Board (GERA). McWhorter earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in education from the University of West Georgia. He resides in Whitesburg with his wife, Linda. They have three children and four grandchildren.
J. Mark Mobley, Jr.
Mr. Mobley is owner and president of Mobley Gin Company in Doerun. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Development Authority, the Board of Directors of the Ameris Bank, the Board of Trustees of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and the Colquitt County Hospital Authority. Mobley attended the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Judy, have four children and reside in Moultrie.
Thomas “Mike” Phelps, Jr.
Mr. Phelps is the manager of Home South Communities, LLC, a residential construction company based in Gwinnett County. He currently serves on the Joint Development Authority for Newton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties and the Greater Atlanta Christian School Development Committee. Phelps participates in international missions with Cross Pointe Church. His past civic and board affiliations include the Gwinnett County Zoning Board of Appeals and the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have two children and reside in Suwanee.
Paul Shailendra
Mr. Shailendra serves as president of SG Property Services. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and is an alumnus of Woodward Academy where he now sits on their advisory council. He is a past member of the Real Estate Committee for the Woodruff Arts Center, Waterfowl USA, and other outdoor sports organizations. Shailendra is past vice president of People-TV, he served on the Board of Directors of the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce, past Co-chair of the YCEO, and he was a member of the 2007 class of L.E.A.D. and the 2011 class of Leadership Georgia. Mr. Shailendra currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Metro Atlanta YMCA and the Board of Directors of Midtown Alliance. He also co-chairs the Y-OPEN golf tournament and is a chair of the Buckhead Chapter of Ducks Unlimited. He and his wife, Amanda, have one daughter and reside in Atlanta.
Jeff “Bodine” Sinyard
Mr. Sinyard is owner and president of Adams Exterminators, Inc., a regional pest control company located in Albany. He serves on the board of directors of SunTrust Bank of South Georgia, on the board of trustees of Darton College, as chairman of the Dougherty County Commission, the Albany Dougherty Payroll Development Authority, and the Dougherty Area Regional Transportation Authority. He also serves on the Georgia Military Affairs Coordinating Committee, Georgia Elections Advisory Board, Georgia Structural Pest Control Commission, and is an officer with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Lillie, have three sons. They reside in Albany.
Winburn E. “Brother” Stewart, Jr.
Mr. Stewart is president and chief executive officer of the Macon-based Bibb Distributing Co. He currently serves on the University of Georgia Terry Business School TDAC, New Town Macon and the board of directors for the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base. Mr. Stewart earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. In 2011, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Terry Business School. Mr. Stewart has two children and five grandchildren. He resides in Macon.
Philip C. Watt, M.D.
Dr. Watt is an investment consultant at Southeast Asset Advisors, Inc., and a special projects coordinator at Williams and Parker, LLC. He serves on the board of directors of Conifer Advisors and on the Board of Trustees for Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, and the Florida State University Foundation. He is a member of the Dean’s Alumni Advisory Council at the John Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Watt earned a bachelor’s degree from the Univ. of the South, a medical degree from the John Hopkins University of Medicine and a master’s degree from the John Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. He and his wife, Alston, have two children.
Delos Yancey, III
Mr. Yancey is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of State Mutual Insurance Company of Rome. He is also chairman and chief executive officer of Insurance Administrative Services. Yancey serves as chairman of the Board of Georgia Life & Health Guaranty Association and is a member on the following boards: North Georgia Mountains Authority, the Georgia Association of Life Insurance Companies, the Oklahoma Life & Health Guaranty Association, Insurance Administrative Solutions, Cancer Navigators and United Community Bank of Rome. He and his wife, Molly, have three children and reside in Rome.
But, what occurs to me is that these people, obviously attuned to "opportunities" and external "prompts," may actually lack the necessary self-awareness to know where their self-interest lies. If a person only acts in response to some demand or direction coming from outside (including the deity up above), then any obligation to disregard self-interest is beside the point. And that would actually account for why, in the long run, much of what they "accomplish" is actually self-defeating and generally destructive.
Alfred W."Bill" Jones III driving the family's Sea Island Company into bankruptcy is a perfect example. A person with a modicum of self-awareness would be ashamed to show his face in public after having ruined a company and destroyed the life savings of so many people.
Mind-boggling.
Finally, let me just suggest that the reason monopoly and dictatorship fail is simply because time is of the essence. The length of our days is fixed and there just isn't enough time for one or a few people to give the amount of time that's required to do things right.
Of course, if failure is on the agenda, then interlocking monopolies fit the prescription perfectly. The really nice thing about this kind of failure is that it's predictable.
Planned destruction is ever so much more certain than the random events Mother Nature dispenses.