Daniel Rhoades Director of Strategy 21st Century Partnership

Mr. Rhoades joined the Partnership as the Director of Strategy in August of 2017. Dan discovered the Middle Georgia area after having spent summers in Macon as a child, choosing this location to settle after he retired from the US Navy. He began his military career in the Army Reserve National Guard, transitioning to full time service with the U.S. Navy. He retired in 2006 with 24 years of service, most of them in the Intelligence community. He built his strategic portfolio at U.S. Space Command, U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Transportation Command. He spent over two years in Iraq providing intelligence analysis to the Iraqi government and other U.S. Allies. During his time in Iraq, and on his return, he worked with L3, SAIC and X - Technologies as a contractor. He then joined Air Force Reserve Command as a civil service employee working the 2005 BRAC. He participated in the founding of the Air Force Strategic Basing and Total Force programs .
As the Director of Strategy Dan is responsible for development and execution of strategies and action plans to enable achievement of the Partnership ’ s goals. The 21st Century Partnership is a Georgia nonprofit corporation and is the only enterprise dedicated solely to actively support the current missions of Robins Air Force Base and ensure that both the base and the Middle Georgia community are best postured to accept new base missions.
The Partnership accomplishes these goals principally by working closely with national, regional and local leadership along with community organizations to positively influence those primary factors that will likely be considered under a future Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. For more than 20 years, the Partnership has been a key participant in all large scale Department of Defense decision making of impact to Robins Air Force Base.

Local Football Coaches

Friday night football begins and the High School Football coaches address the club on their teams chances for a championship season. Dublin High School  Coach Roger Holmes, East Laurens  High School Coach Bin Turner, Trinity Christian School Coach Jimmy Fields and West Laurens High School Coach Kagan McClain

U.S.Congressman Rick Allen

Rick W. Allen was elected to represent Georgia’s 12th District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014. Prior to his election to Congress, Rick spent his career starting and building his own business from the ground up. At the age of 25, he founded the construction company R.W. Allen & Associates, which has enhanced economic development in Georgia and created thousands of jobs in the Augusta and Athens communities for more than 35 years. 
As a conservative, small businessman, Rick knows firsthand what it takes to live within a budget, make payroll and successfully grow a business. His extensive business background guides his commitment to promoting policies that allow the private sector to thrive and fighting against regulatory burdens the federal government is placing on the backs of business owners.
The son of a farmer, Rick is proud to serve on the House Committee on Agriculture. This role further enables him to work as an advocate for farmers in Washington and shape legislation to bolster Georgia’s number one industry. Rick is also a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, which focuses on strengthening our nation’s schools and expanding opportunities for Americans in the modern workplace.
Rick graduated from Auburn University’s School of Architecture and Fine Arts with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Building Construction. He and his wife, Robin, have been married for 43 years and reside in Augusta. Together, they raised four children and are the proud grandparents of 12 grandchildren. 
In addition to being a devoted husband, father and grandfather, Rick is an active member of Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church. He is also involved in a number of different business and civic organizations in his community and has earned a reputation as a principled business leader. In 2008, he received the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year Award and took part in the first class of Leadership Augusta in 1980. In 2011, Rick was also inducted into the CSRA Business Hall of Fame.

Federal Reserve Congress & the Economy

Marc Fordham has spent the past 15 years working within Congress in a variety of capacities. He currently serves as the Head of Government Affairs for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta where he is responsible for managing all engagement with members of Congress, state and municipal leaders across a six state region that includes Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Additionally, Fordham is responsible for leading outreach to the U.S. Congress and executive branch on behalf of Federal Reserve System Conference of Presidents which is comprised of the Presidents of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks across the country. Prior to his current role, Marc coordinated the development of economic policy speeches delivered to a global financial audience, conducted outreach on behalf of the Bank and served as a policy advisor to the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve System, he served as a senior advisor to U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson for over a decade.
A native of Dublin, Georgia, Fordham received his bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Georgia, a master’s degree in business administration as well as a master’s degree in public policy. He is also a graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Strategy Beyond Markets program and completed executive education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He serves on the board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Terry College of Business Finance Department, and is a past board member of the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency. Marc and his wife Quinn live in Atlanta, GA with their two boys Mac and Copeland.

 Tax Reform Questions

Local CPA's answer questions about the new tax law and how it effects club members. Participating CPA's were Tim Veal ,Nichols, Cauley & Associates,

Hanna Holley - Miss Georgia Contestant 2018

Hanna Holley is the 22 - year - old daughter of Dennis and Dawn Holley. She is a graduate of West Laurens High School and a recent graduate of the University of Georgia where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications with a focus in public relations and entrepreneurship. She is a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority . Hanna served on the executive board of Talking Dog, UGA’s full service, student run public relations and advertising agency.
She has received several honors and awards including the Distinguished Young Woman of Laurens County Scholarship, Outstanding Citizen of the State recognition in 2013 from Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Dublin Exchange Club American Citizenship Speech Competition winner, Scholar Athlete for 4 years, and the Distinguished Young Woman Self Expression Scholarship as well as numerous other honors. In high school, she was Student Body President and served as vice president in the BETA Club, a member of Citizen’s Bank Advisory Board, Laurens Youth Leadership, and sat in on Dublin Downtown Development board meetings as a student ambassador.
Hanna has competed in the annual Miss Georgia Pageant for the past three years -- most close to her heart, was competing as Miss University of Georgia. Hanna has promoted her platform entitled “ Children’s Miracle Network: Crowns and Capes for Children” where she delivers crowns and capes to children in hospitals across the state. Hanna was a top ten finalist at the Miss Georgia Pageant competition in June 2017 ,as well as a swimsuit preliminary award winner and overall on stage question winner.
Hanna looks forward to movi ng back to Dublin one day to become her dad’s boss at JT Hanna Promotions.

Jeff Cox Chief Meterologist

Jeff Cox is Chief Meteorologist for WGXA News and can be seen at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on FOX24, and at 6 and 11 p.m. on ABC16. Jeff rejoined the WGXA News team in August of 2009. He also worked as Chief Meteorologist at WGXA from April 2005 to August 2007. Jeff grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2005 with a degree in Atmospheric Sciences with a concentration in Weather Forecasting. He has over a decade of broadcasting and forecasting experience.  He worked as a radio broadcast meteorologist for the Weather Channel in Atlanta, broadcasting on radio stations across the nation and on XM/Sirius satellite radio.
Jeff owes his love of weather and dedication to forecasting to Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and the Blizzard of '93 in March of 1993. He is a two-time winner of the Georgia Association of Broadcaster's 'Weathercast of the Year'.
In his spare time, Jeff enjoys cheering on his UNC Asheville Bulldogs, the Atlanta Braves and watching NASCAR with his wife, Kacey, daughter Harper, and their beagle, Abby.

Reflections

Reflections by Lee Teeter is an open signed edition depicting the Vietnam Veterans Wall being visited by a former soldier of that war.  Reflected in the wall are the gentleman’s memories of his fellow soldiers who were lost in the war, and whose names are on the wall.  It is a sad image yet inspirational in that after the war and the trauma he experienced, he moved on with his life, becoming a business man, lawyer, doctor, teacher, etc. but still remembered his friends.  They would want him to move on and have a successful life… after all, that is one of the reasons for which they fought and died.  Every US soldier fights for our freedom and their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Dell Spry Retired FBI Agent

Retired agent Dell Spry served in the FBI for twenty years. During his career, he primarily worked counterintelligence, counterespionage, and counterterrorism investigations. While assigned to FBIHQ, Dell was a member of the National Security Council Counterterrorism Working Group. He was liaison to the CIA Counterintelligence Center, Counterespionage Group and was the lead investigator for the FBI in the Aldrich Ames case. Dell was involved in the two-year-long investigation where he, as the FBI case agent, along with a team of FBI and CIA personnel, was successful in identifying Ames as a KGB mole. Ames, who was directly responsible for the execution of several Soviet and Russian assets and operatives, was charged and convicted of espionage in 1994 and is serving a life sentence. Dell received the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence in a Counterintelligence Investigation and the CIA Director’s Meritorious Service Award for his efforts. Prior to retirement, Dell supervised a Counterintelligence squad in Atlanta, Georgia. Currently, as a consultant, Dell teaches an advanced course of instruction to novice and experienced FBI personnel on human intelligence (HUMINT) collection, intelligence tradecraft, and counterintelligence matters.