William E. Cooper is mayor of Enterprise. He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from Alabama State University, an education specialist degree and a doctorate in humane letters from Selma University. Cooper is superintendent of the Enterprise Water Works Board and on the boards of the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, Wiregrass Economic Development, the Alabama League of Municipalities, the National League of Cities, Organized Community Action Program and SARCOA. He is the immediate past board president of Southeast Gas, a member of the local AUSA, Fort Novosel Chapter and Friends of Fort Novosel and is director of music at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church.
Col. (Retired) Robert C. Doerer is deputy to the commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Novosel. Doerer is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He also holds master’s degrees from the University of Central Michigan and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. Doerer served earlier on the Enterprise City School Board and continues to volunteer with various city projects.
Major Gen. Clair A. Gill is the commanding general of the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Novosel, as well as the chief of the U.S. Army Aviation branch. A 30-year Army aviation officer and helicopter pilot, he is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He is responsible for the training and development of more than 18,000 aviation warfighters annually and he leads all modernization efforts on behalf of the entire U.S. Army Aviation enterprise.
Lisa and Tim Johnson own TCJ Financial Corp., a real estate investment company that buys, renovates, leases and sells residential and commercial real estate. Lisa Johnson is a graduate of Auburn University at Montgomery and serves as first vice president of the Elba Chamber of Commerce. Tim Johnson is also a graduate of Auburn University at Montgomery and has served two terms as chairman of the Water and Electric Board of the city of Elba and worked with Elba’s Main Street Alabama presentation team and the city of Elba’s Alabama Cities of Excellence team.
Tom Maddox has served as mayor of Elba since 2020. Prior to that, he served as the District 4 representative on the Elba City Council. He is also superintendent of the Water Works and Electric Board and has been a local business owner for approximately 45 years. Maddox earned a degree in music education from the University of Southern Mississippi. He sits on the boards of PowerSouth, the Elba Chamber of Commerce, the Wiregrass Economic Development Corp. and the Southeast Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission.
John L. Mitchell Jr. is executive manager and vice president of Mitchell Nissan Inc. in Enterprise. He is chairman of the Wiregrass Economic Development Corp., chairman of the Enterprise Water Works Board and serves on the board for the Friends of Fort Novosel, the Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama and the executive committee of the National Automobile Dealers Association. Mitchell earned his degree in business management at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Robert Rhoades is president of Diamond -R- Electric, an electrical contracting firm that serves clients in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana. He currently serves as chairman of the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce board and holds positions on the Wallace Foundation board for Wallace Community College in Dothan, the Industrial Development Board for the city of Enterprise and the Wiregrass Economic Development Corp. The Elba native is a graduate of Enterprise State Community College, Auburn University and Wallace Community College – Dothan.
Kelvin Seldon is president and CEO of Advantage Consulting and Solutions LLC, which he co-founded in 2022. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, then worked as a system administrator and network technician before becoming a Department of Defense contractor. He serves on the advisory committees for Enterprise State Community College, Wallace Community College and Wake Tech Community College. He earned an associate degree in computer information systems from Enterprise State Community College and a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity from American Public University.
Adam Shanks is the owner and CEO of the Alabama Pecan Co. and Milky Moo’s Deli and Creamery. He is a board member for SpectraCare Health Systems and the Wiregrass Economic Development Corp. Shanks is a graduate of Auburn University at Montgomery, where he earned a degree in business management with a minor in business law. He also completed a summer internship in Washington D.C. for former Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2009.
Jason Thrash is vice president of engineering and operations and information technology for Wiregrass Electric Cooperative. The Enterprise native earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of South Alabama and obtained his Alabama Professional Engineering license in 2015. He is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin School of Business/NRECA’s management internship program. Thrash serves as vice chairman of the Wiregrass Economic Development Corp.
This article appears in the March 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
