Brian Baine
Baine is mayor of Fort Payne. He is a graduate of Fort Payne High School and attended Northeast Community College and Gadsden State Community College. He worked at Bruce’s Foodland Plus for 36 years. He served on the Fort Payne City Council including serving as president. He is president of the Fort Payne Optimist Club, the DeKalb-Cherokee Gas board and the Leadership DeKalb board, and earlier served on the boards of FPIA, the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce, the United Givers Fund, DeKalb Tourism Board and DeKalb County Children’s Advocacy.
Johnny Berry
Berry is superintendent of education for Arab City Schools. Entering his 31st year in public education, he has been a principal, counselor, coach and special education teacher. He received his Doctor of Education from the University of Alabama and is a 2017 graduate of the Alabama Superintendents Academy. Berry is a member of the Rotary Club of Arab and serves on the boards of Arab Industrial Development and Arab Commercial Development. He also serves on the Alabama Association of School Boards board training advisory committee.
Leigh Dollar
Dollar is serving a third term as mayor of Guntersville. She was first elected in 2012, 40 years after her father was elected mayor. Dollar is a University of Alabama graduate and a CPA. She is a past president of the Alabama League of Municipalities and a graduate of Marshall County Leadership Challenge and Leadership Alabama. She is active with the Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce and many civic organizations and is a board member and past board chairman of Marshall County Gas District.
James Durham Jr.
Durham has served as executive director of the DeKalb County Economic Development Authority for the past 26 years and is in his fourth term on the Fort Payne City Board of Education, where he is board president. He also is an adjunct professor for Northeast Alabama Community College and Athens State University. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Auburn University. He serves on the TVA Rural Economic Development Cabinet. He is a graduate of Leadership Alabama and of the TVA Valley Leadership Program. Earlier, he was executive director of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, acting state aeronautics director and program manager for the Alabama International Airport Authority. He is a licensed private pilot.
David Early
Early is administrator of Floyd Cherokee Medical Center. He earned an MBA and a Master of Health Administration degree from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s degree from Covenant College. Active with the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, Early has served on the organization’s board. He is former chairman of the board for Distributive Cooperative Inc. He is a past board member and president of the Georgia Society for Healthcare Materials Management and previously served as chairman of the Volunteer Hospitals of America Supply Chain Leaders Council.
Connie Fuller
Fuller is executive director of Fort Payne Main Street and serves on the Fort Payne Boom Days committee. She helped secure a grant for Life’s Journey Reflection and Meditation Garden on the Susie P. Stringfellow Memorial Garden Trail. She is an entrepreneur and bookstore owner. She is a graduate of Auburn University and Troy State University. She is a retired educator and worked at Johns Hopkins University. She also worked as team manager/senior trainer for the SFA Foundation reading program and trained teachers in Israel, England, Hawaii, Alaska and most states in the U.S.
Silvia Hernandez
Hernandez is owner of Go Play Therapy, which offers speech and occupational therapy to pediatric patients. Her mission is to bring pediatric therapy to rural DeKalb and Cherokee counties, a passion she developed while caring for her two sons with cystic fibrosis. She formerly served on the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce board and is still an active member. She is a graduate of Leadership DeKalb and serves on its board.
Tracy Honea
Honea is mayor of Albertville, where he owns a family business and works in real estate. As mayor, he has worked to restore city revenues. Today, the city has developed a sports and recreation park that has attracted visitors, plus new retail, restaurant, hotel and entertainment space. The city expects an annual economic boost of $120 million from Sand Mountain Park & Amphitheater. Honea serves on the Albertville Board of Education; the boards of Albertville Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Marshall County and Marshall County Gas; and is active with Albertville Commercial Development Authority.
David Hughes
Hughes is in his 13th year as mayor of Bridgeport. He was born and raised in Bridgeport and attended Bridgeport High School. He is a member of First Baptist Church in Bridgeport. Hughes served on the city council for 12 years before being elected mayor. He has been employed by Bridgeport Utilities for 25 years.
Thereasa Hulgan
Hulgan is executive director of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce. Director of Leadership Cherokee, she is on the board of East AL Works, WIOA, Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, Alabama Bass Trail (chair), Cherokee County Industrial Development Authority, East Alabama Regional Planning & Development Commission, Friends of the Little River Canyon, GSCC Cardinal Foundation, Youth Leadership Cherokee and others. She is a Rotarian, Paul Harris Fellow, and serves as assistant governor for her area. Hulgan was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama as the 2021 Professional of the Year. The Cherokee County Chamber earned an Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce award.
Patrick Lawler
Lawler is making a big impact on Marshall County and Lake Guntersville with two major developments. City Harbor in Guntersville is a large commercial project transforming the city’s unique location on the Tennessee River. And The Reserve is a 120-acre residential development within Marshall County that is redefining Lake Guntersville’s waterfront real estate. Raised in Guntersville, Lawler established his development company in Texas before returning home to pursue these properties.
Nathan Lee
Lee is president and CEO of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and Auburn University Economic Development Intensive. Lee is a graduate of Leadership Jackson County and serves as president of the Children’s Advocacy Center board. He also is a member of the Scottsboro Rotary Club and Impact Learning Center board. His goal is to see Jackson County recruit quality jobs for North Alabama.
Mark Mansfield
Mansfield is serving his first term as mayor of Centre in Cherokee County. He is retired after serving 42 years in the newsprint/paper industry, with the last 22 years as president of a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises in Atlanta. He attended the University of Georgia. His grandfather served as mayor of Centre for 16 years and his uncle for 12 years. He is on the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce board, the DC Gas board and the East Alabama Development board.
Jim McCamy
McCamy is mayor of Scottsboro, elected in August 2020. A graduate of Athens State University, McCamy serves on the Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments board. McCamy served as U.S. Representative Bud Cramer’s congressional district director, promoting economic development efforts in north Alabama. McCamy is retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he was manager of TVA Crisis and Emergency Management. Before working with Cramer, McCamy was an area coordinator for the state of Alabama Emergency Management Agency and director of Jackson County EMA.
Jynnah Mooney
Mooney is president of the Arab Chamber of Commerce. She serves on the Marshall County Leadership Board, Marshall County Tourism and Sports, Junior Achievement, Arab Industrial Board, Arab Commercial Development Authority, Arab Education Foundation and Sugarfest. She has volunteered with Marshall County Christmas Coalition and Woodmen Life. She also is a member of the Arab Mother’s Club, Arab Band Boosters and the United Way Loaned Executive Program.
Jonathan Phillips
Phillips is career technical supervisor for DeKalb County Schools. During his tenure the career tech program has seen steady growth and has been recognized as among the best in the state. Phillips serves on the SkillsUSA National Education Team, Southern Regional Education Board’s National Technology Centers That Work Advisory Council, Association of Career Tech Administrators Region 1 vice president, Alabama Assistant State Superintendents’ Career Tech Education Advisory Council, and DeKalb County 310 Board. Three times he has received the Southern Regional Education Board Pacesetter Award.
Rick Roden
Roden is president and CEO of Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce. A University of Alabama graduate, he is also a graduate of Leadership Jackson County and Leadership Alabama, is past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, and 2009 winner of the top chamber professional award. He is president of the UA Alumni Association chapter in Jackson County. He serves on the board of regents for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the board of trustees for Thrive Regional Partnership and is a past chair of the Highlands Medical Center Foundation.
Joe Whitmore
Whitmore is president of Snead State Community College. He came to Snead State in 2016 as vice president for finance and administration and began serving as interim president in June 2020 before his appointment to president. Earlier, he worked at Jacksonville State University for 22 years. He is overseeing several building projects at Snead State. He earned bachelor’s and MBA degrees at Jacksonville State and holds a doctorate of education from the American College of Education. He also had a career in banking before entering higher education.
Charlie Williams
Williams is president and CEO of Citizens Bank & Trust in Guntersville. An Auburn University graduate, he has worked in banking since graduation. Active in the Marshall County area, he has been countywide chair of the United Way, is past president of the Guntersville Chamber of Commerce, served on the Guntersville City Council and was active in the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee. Williams is on the Alabama Bankers Association board.
Morri Yancy
Yancy is president of the Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce. A graduate of Auburn University, she has received professional designation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management. A recipient of the Jamie Wallace Award, the highest individual Chamber of Commerce award in Alabama, she serves on the boards of Business Council of Alabama and Marshall County Leadership Challenge. She is a past chair of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama.
