BRANDON RAPHAEL - TEAM PRESIDENT

Brandon Raphael is going into his second season as Team President of the Macon Bacon.
In Brandon's first season, he helped lead the Bacon to its most successful season on and off the field. The Bacon had its best record and made the Championship Series, along with helping raise over $50,000 for local organizations. With this, Brandon was named the Coastal Plain League Executive of the Year in 2019.
Before the Bacon, he has more than 18 years of experience in various roles in sports including the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Development and Ticket Sales at the University of Texas – San Antonio. Brandon previously worked with DeLay with the Frisco RoughRiders and the Las Vegas 51s.
He is from St. Louis and attended Maryville University where he also played baseball. Rumor has it, he will take a few at-bats each season.
Brandon is married to his wife, Kimberly and has two children: Caden (12) and Brooklyn (10).

Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership

The GOAL (Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership) Program celebrates it’s 49th year this year! Outstanding students attending Georgia’s technical colleges are recognized for academic excellence and personal achievement. GOAL emphasizes the importance in technical education in today’s world and rewards students who exemplify excellence in their chosen program of study.
This year’s 2020 GOAL Winner for Oconee Fall Line Technical College is Summer Pope. Summer is in the Associate Degree in Nursing Bridge Program. Summer was nominated by Math Instructor, Lecresicia Marion.
The RPA (Rick Perkins Award) Program The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence is awarded annually and is designed to recognize and honor technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields. The award has been an ongoing statewide event since 1991. This year’s 2020 RPA WInner is Kelly Braxton, Clinical Coordinator and Instructor in the Respiratory Technology Program and Division Chair for Allied Health.

Pete Stuart Morris Bank

Pete Stuart is the Corporate Security Officer for Morris Bank. Pete assists with the security efforts of Morris Bank and is responsible for fraud investigations, restitutions, employee security training, and acts as liaison to external law enforcement officials in criminal investigations and prosecution. Pete earned a certification in At-Risk Adult Crime Tactics (ACT) focusing on elder financial exploitation. Prior to joining Morris Bank, Pete Served as a Special Agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) for 30 years with the last seven years as the GBI Director of Training. In this role, Pete specialized in the development and implementation of advanced courses to include firearms, warrant service, active shooter response, death investigations, interviews and interrogations and career development courses.

Southern Way Retrievers

Southern Way Retrievers LLC provides gundog training, puppies, boarding and UKC / AKC Hunt Test handling for clients from the Southeastern US and as far away as New York. Training programs offered include an Obedience Program, Puppy Head Start and Gun Dog Programs, Upland training and Pre-Season Tune Ups for both waterfowl and upland dogs. SWR also offers an elite training program that produces a Proper Gun Dog. This is the ultimate gun dog, which is equally proficient in the upland field and in the duck blind while still being a well-mannered family pet or even an office companion!

Bob Young The Robbery and the Reverend

Bob Young is former mayor of the City of Augusta and served in the Senior Executive Service in the administration of President George W. Bush.  An Emmy-nominated broadcast journalist, Bob has been presented the Jefferson Davis Award by the United Daughters of the Confederacy for his work in Southern History. He is the author of four books, one of which, The Treasure Train, was featured on History Channel’s The Curse of Civil War Gold.  Bob grew up in Thomson, where he graduated Thomson High School.  He attended Wofford College and Augusta University.  He is an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War. Bob and his wife Gwen, a retired real estate broker, live in Augusta’s historic Summerville district.

TJ Ward

TJ Ward, President and CEO of TJ Ward and Associates, Inc., began his investigative career more than forty years ago as a law enforcement officer for the State of Georgia. Mr. Ward worked on the State Drug Task Force for nine of his fourteen years as an officer and was instrumental in the organization and implementation of the Aviation Division of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department. Prior to his career in law enforcement, Mr. Ward served in the United States Marine Corps.
In 1982, Mr. Ward began TJ Ward and Associates, Inc. and continued to work as a reserve law enforcement officer for twenty years. In addition to his investigative license, Mr. Ward maintains certification as a volunteer firefighter, an emergency medical technician (EMT), and a P.O.S.T.-certified law enforcement officer. Mr. Ward is also a licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot and has worked with several law enforcement agencies on search and rescue missions, aerial surveillance, and officer transportation.
Mr. Ward has worked closely with former U.S. Attorney and Congressman, Bob Barr, in addition to working with more than 600 law firms in the southeast, assisting the FBI and ATF with criminal investigations, and working with numerous companies and corporations in the private sector in order to provide them with background information and fraud investigations on individuals within those organizations.
Mr. Ward also offers his services pro bono for missing persons and was the first investigator hired by the family of Natalee Holloway, who went missing in Aruba in 2005. He is an established resource for both local Atlanta media companies and nationally syndicated radio and television shows regarding civil and criminal investigations.

Dublin Laurens County Recreation Authority

In 1999 the City of Dublin Recreation and the Laurens County Recreation merged to become Dublin Laurens County Recreation Authority. DLCRA serves the community in a variety of ways- from recreation sports, the water park, and various parks and facilities. Facilities include Hillburn playground, Oconee Community Center, Stubbs park which includes a gymnasium, skate park and tennis courts, Spring dale, and the largest park, Southern Pines. Southern Pines has become the premiere recreation park in Georgia and the southeast. It has become the host of many state and regional softball and baseball tournaments. The park hosts soccer and football games as well. Southern Pines also has developed the Ag. and Expo Center which host several animal shows and special events. Lastly the newest addition to Southern Pines is the waterpark.

OFTC Update

Erica Harden is the President of Oconee
Fall Line Technical College. Prior to her appointment as President, Erica served as the Executive Vice President of Oconee Fall Line Technical College. She has over 29 years of experience in technical education. She began her career in 1990 serving in a variety of leadership positions at four technical colleges in Georgia and South Carolina. She currently serves on the Warren County Career Academy board, on the Washington County Extension Office Advisory Committee, and as an ex-officio member of the Heart of Georgia RESA and Oconee RESA. She is a member of the Dublin Rotary Club, and is a former member of the Heart of Georgia College and Career Academy Board.  
Erica is a past chairman of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, a TCSG Executive Leadership Academy Graduate, and a South Carolina Employee of the Year.  
Erica is a native of Vidalia, Georgia. She and her husband, John Wesley Harden, have one daughter, Mary Katherine Harden, who is a recent graduate of Presbyterian College. Erica is a graduate from the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism.  She and her family are active members of the Sandersville United Methodist Church. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family on their farm and cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs and the Presbyterian College Blue Hose.

Ron Shipman, VP, Southwest Region, Georgia Power

 Ron Shipman is vice president of Georgia Power’s Southwest Region. In this role, Shipman leads Georgia Power’s operations for 442,200 customers in a 59-county area that includes the cities of Macon, Columbus and Valdosta.
Since joining Georgia Power in 1984, Shipman has held a number of positions in the areas of nuclear chemistry, legislative affairs, area and distribution management and environmental affairs.
Shipman received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Morehouse College and an MBA from Shorter College. He has completed numerous leadership development programs including Leadership Georgia, the Regional Leadership Institute (RLI), and the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership (IGEL). In the community, Shipman serves on the Board of Directors for NewTown Macon, the 21st Century Partnership and he is the 2018 Chair of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce.
Shipman enjoys music, swimming and the great outdoors. He also tries to play golf.

Gene Crafton A Personal Look at Polio

Gene A. Crafton was born in Dublin, Ga., in 1956, and by the age of 3 yrs. old contacted with the poliovirus and was paralyzed in the upper right arm.   He received specialized out-patient treatment at The Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute of Rehabilitation for over 12 years before being released.   By age 4, Gene and his family moved to Hawkinsville, Ga. for 20 years until 1980, when they moved back to Dublin, where Gene worked with father in the banking industry.   Gene was VP/loan officer at Morris Bank for 18 yrs., and owned Crafton Studios for 8 yrs.   Gene is a graduate of The Georgia Banking School and an honor graduate of the Georgia Banking Operations School. He has also has a:
• AA in Music MGC (76)
• BFA in Music UGA (79)
• AA in Photography NGTC (80)
• BA in Accounting GCSU (09)
• BA in Management/minor in Economics GCSU (10)
Today, Gene is retired and married to the former Teresa Helton with no children. He is past president of The Dublin-Laurens Co. Humane Society and Dublin Laurens Arts Council. He has been a member of the Dublin Exchange Club for 34 years and member of First Baptist Church Dublin for 39 years.

Michael (Mike) R. Muldowney District Governor 2019-2020

Mike graduated with a BS degree in Food Technology from Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, PA.  He began his career in the food processing industry with a small vegetable processing company in Baltimore, MD and Greenwood, DE.  In the remaining career of 37 years he worked with products such as breakfast cereals and other breakfast foods, pet food, Kool Aid, and salad dressings both in quality control and production management positions.  The last 25 years of his professional career was working in the seafood processing business as VP of Operations.  He and his family have lived in Maryland (2X), Pennsylvania (2X), Illinois (3X), Michigan, Massachusetts, and finally St. Simons Island.  After retiring from King & Prince Seafood Corp. in Brunswick, GA, he and his wife opened 2 picture framing stores, one on St. Simons and the other in Brunswick. They closed the business after 11 years to retire once again.
Over the years, he has been involved in many nonprofit organizations.  He is past president of the United Way of the Golden Isles, past board member of the Brunswick- Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce,  past president of Coastal Coalition for Children, past board member of Junior Achievement of greater Boston, and a past SCORE counselor and a member of several other committees in his communities.
Mike joined the Rotary Club of St. Simons Island in 2001 and served on the club’s Board of Directors in 2005 to 2007 and was club President in 2011-2012.  He served on the St. Simons Island Rotary Scholarship Fund from 2006 to 2015, 2009 to 2015 as the Chair. He is a Bruce/Tharpe Fellow for his contributions to the clubs Scholarship Fund.  As an active member of the club, he co-chaired a literacy program in the local Pre-K classes, organized club socials, coordinated the Red Badge program, played a key role in the Veterans Walk project on St. Simons Island and has served on many committees helping to serve the local community. Mike and Nancy were a GRSP Host Family in 2013-14 and he served as a Trustee to GRSP from 2013-2017.  To support District 6920 activities, he was the 2018 District Conference Chair and an Assistant Governor from 2015 to 2018. 
He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a Sustaining Member and a Will Watt Fellow.  Nancy is also a Paul Harris Fellow. A native of northern New Jersey,

Terry Evans Atlanta Braves Chaplan

Terry is the Southeast Director for Unlimited Potential and also serves with Baseball Chapel as the chaplain for the Atlanta Braves. He is the son of Michael and Lee Ann Evans and brother of Donna Evans. He graduated from Trinity Christian School in 2000 and went on to attend Middle Georgia College for two years before signing to play professional baseball. He obtained an associates degree in business from Middle Georgia College and a M.A. in Ministry Studies from Grace College and Seminary.  

Terry was drafted as an outfielder by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001, traded to the Los Angeles Angels in 2006, made his Major League Debut with the Angels in 2007, signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2011 and then the Kansas City Royals in 2012 before retiring from an eleven year professional career.  Some of his highlights include: (i) In 2006, he became the eighth player in Minor League Baseball history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a single minor league season, (ii) In 2007, his first Major League hit was a home run, and (iii) he was selected to the Triple-A All-Star team twice (2007 & 2009).  
He has been married for 11 years to his wife Tanner [Cochran], and they have four children, Asher (10), Jude (8), Isaac (5) and Arlie (3). They currently live in Woodstock, GA where they are active members of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA.