Communities of Coastal Georgia

Officers

Rees Sumerford is senior partner with the Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford & Martin Law Firm in Brunswick, GA.  He specializes in Estate Law, Trust and Tax Law, and Corporate Law.  A native of Americus, he attended the University of Georgia where he received a BBA degree in 1970.  In 1973 he was graduated from the University of Georgia Law School.  He is a member of the Brunswick and the American Bar Associations and the State Bar of Georgia.  He is a Phi Delta Phi and a Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Jeff Barker was born in Lumberton, North Carolina and attended North Carolina State University where he received a BS in Pulp and Paper Science in 1979. In June 1999 he successfully completed the E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration of Louisiana State University's Executive Education program.  He moved to St. Marys in 1979 to begin his career in the paper industry with Gilman Paper Company where he served in a number of management positions including Senior Vice President and General Manager. He left Gilman in 2000 after the sale of the company and began a consulting practice to the paper industry. In 2001, he became President /CEO of the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation and continues to serve in this capacity. He has been an active member of St. Marys UMC since 1979 where he teaches an older adult Sunday School class and serves on many committees. He has also served as board chair for a number of community organizations including the Camden County Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Camden County. He serves on a number of other boards including The Coastal Bank of Georgia, Coastal Georgia College - Camden Campus, Southeast Georgia Health Systems - Camden Center, The Coastal Georgia Center for Nonprofits, Magnolia Manor, and the Camden Partnership. He and his wife Cathy have two sons, Jonathan, an airman with the U.S Air Force and Matthew, a junior studying Civil Engineering at Southern Polytechnic State University.

Claude H. Booker, Jr. A native of Rome, GA and the son of a prominent Rome banker, Claude Booker was graduated from the Darlington School and Georgia Institute of Technology.  He received an MBA from Emory University and attended the School of Banking of the South at LA State University.  He held a number of banking positions in Augusta, Atlanta, and Savannah, and retired as EVP of Trust Company of Georgia.  He was actively involved in many civic groups and charities in the cities in which he lived, including chambers of commerce, the United Way, and Boy Scouts of America.  Claude and his wife Julia "Judy" (Perry) Booker live on Sea Island.  They are founders of the Communities of Coastal Georgia.

Jerry Harper is a native of Wayne County, Georgia, but moved to Glynn County in 1964 to attend Brunswick Junior College.  Upon graduation in 1966, he finished his undergraduate education at Georgia Southern with a B.B. A. in accounting.  He has worked for the same accounting firm since October 1964, beginning part time while a college student.  He was made a partner in that company, Shell & Hogan, CPA in 1972.  In addition to his board responsibilities at the community foundation, he currently serves as vice-chair of the board of directors of the Katz-Whittle Foundation in Brunswick.  He also holds the position of treasurer for the board of the Glynn County Heart Association and is a director of the Southeastern Bank. He and his wife Sandra live on St. Simons.

Diane Laws was born in North Carolina and raised in Lake Wales, Florida. She moved to coastal Georgia in 1981 with her husband, Dr. William Laws.  She holds dual BA degrees in Spanish and Sociology and her Teacher's Certification from Duke University.  While her husband completed medical school in Augusta, Diane taught Spanish, English and sociology at the high school level there.  Upon moving to Glynn County, she worked for several years with her husband helping establish and manage his medical practice.  She then concentrated her energies on raising four children and involving herself in community service through several local organizations.  She has served on the boards of Frederica Academy, the YWCA, Waterdawgs Swim Team, and with the First United Methodist Church Administration.

Cheri Harden Leavy is a native of Brunswick and the Golden Isles.  She received a B.A. in Secondary English Education from The University of Georgia. Cheri taught English for two years at Brunswick High School before she joined The Brunswick News and served as editor of Coastal Illustrated for five years and started a Newspaper in Education program. She is currently advertising/editorial director of Bulldawg Illustrated. Cheri is an associate for Portraits South through Left Bank Art Gallery.  She and her husband Vance reside on St. Simons Island and Athens, GA.  She is a trustee on the Coastal Georgia Community College Foundation. She serves on the board of the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association. She is a board member of Cassina Garden Club on St. Simons Island. She has served as the co-chair of the Brunswick Rockin' Stewbilee Pooch Parade benefiting the Coastal Georgia Humane Society and Glynn County Animal Services for four years. Cheri served for five years on the Brunswick YWCA board of directors and received the YWCA Volunteer of the Year Award in 2006. She served as co-chair of the YWCA Tribute to Women Leaders luncheon for 2006 and 2007 and was a Tribute honoree in 2005. She participated in Leadership Georgia in 2007.  She and her husband Vance split their time between St. Simons Island and Athens, GA.

Arthur M. Lucas is president of Lucas Properties, LLC, a St. Simons Island based commercial real estate investment firm.  Prior to that, Art founded and led Lucas Group, an executive search recruiting firm headquartered in Atlanta with 16 offices in major US cities and 3 overseas.  Lucas Group was sold to HIG, a private equity firm and Art and his wife moved in 2009 primarily to the Georgia Coast.  Art graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in International Relations and the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management.  He served in the US Army as an officer.  Art created "Dream Builders" through the Atlanta Metropolitan United Way, a program that placed disadvantaged inner city youth as summer interns in white collar environments.  He and the program were recognized by two Atlanta mayors (Andrew Young and Bill Campbell).  Art served as president of the Georgia Association of Personnel Services and has served on three private company boards.  He grew up in McIntosh County, and he and his wife, Lindee, reside on Sea Island but also have a family home in McIntosh.

Jeanne Manning is a native of coastal Georgia. A 1972 graduate of Agnes Scott, she holds a bachelor's degree from that institution and a master's degree in business administration from Rutgers University, awarded in 1986.  Active in the coastal Georgia community since her youth, she serves on the boards of the Coastal Medical Access Project (C-MAP), the St. Simons Land Trust, and is a founding board member of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation.  Jeanne is also a member of the Agnes Scott College board of directors.  She has worked in private industry in banking, and in government with the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services) and with the U.S. Treasury Department.  Jeanne and her husband, Jim, divide their time between their homes here in Coastal Georgia and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Dennie L. McCrary

Diana M. Murphy is managing director of Rocksolid Holdings, LLC, a private equity firm that invests in small businesses and real estate and provides business consulting services throughout the Southeast.  Prior jobs included that of managing director for Chartwell Capital Management Company in Jacksonville, FL and Sr. Vice President for Advertising and Marketing for The Baltimore Sun Company.  She serves on the boards of several companies and local nonprofit boards, among them GRA Venture Fund in Atlanta, Landstar Systems in Jacksonville, Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Georgia, College of Coastal Georgia Foundation, Coastal Bank of Georgia, US Golf Association Executive Committee, and Georgia Humanities Council.  A graduate of West Virginia with a B.S. Journalism degree, she also earned an advanced executive business degree from Northwestern University in 1993.  She and husband Reg Murphy are founders and reside on St. Simons Island.

S. Lloyd Newberry, Jr. PhD Former Dean of the College of Education and Professor of Science Education and Research Design at Armstrong Atlantic State Unviersity, Dr. Newberry has retired and resides on Harris Neck Island, Townsend (McIntosh County) Georgia.  A native Georgian, he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Georgia (youngest graduate to receive a doctorate degree from the UGA).  A farmer, timber cultivator, and coastal land developer, he has hunted and fished on six continents and in over 53 countries, authored three books, and is Senior Editor for "Sporting Classics" magazine.  He is past president of the Savannah Science Museum and a former member of the board of trustees of the Georgia Conservancy.  Currently he serves on the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Board (SICAR) and the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, SC.  He and his wife Martha have two grown sons.

Alfred Sams, III is a native of Macon, Georgia.  He received a degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia in 2001.  Currently, Alfred is a Senior Vice President and Private Financial Advisor with SunTrust Investment Services, Inc.  In 2009, Alfred accepted the role and responsibilities of Private Financial Advisor for Southeast Georgia, encompassing Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Brunswick, Jesup and Waycross.  That same year, he earned the Certified Financial Planner™ designation.  He has served on numerous boards, committees, and civic organizations in Macon, GA where he and his family continue to reside part time.  He is married to Riley Sams and has two children, Thomas (4) and Cammie (1).

Bonney Stamper Shuman

Ben Slade III was born in Atlanta, GA, and attended Vanderbilt University.  He received a graduate degree in banking from Indiana University and then served as a Lt (jg) with the U.S. Navy.  Moving to Brunswick in 1961, he became chairman and CEO of First Federal Savings Bank of Brunswick for over thirty years until it was sold to Bank of America in 1997.  He then served seven years as CEO of Slade-Hancock Insurance Agency.  He has also consulted in charitable gift planning for foundations and individuals and on LLC real estate investment and management.  His many community activities have included the local and state chambers of commerce, the Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges, as well as the local college.  He has been part of the steering committee for several local nonprofits including Ferst Foundation for Children's Literacy, Glynn County Communities in Schools, Coastal Medical Access Project, Blueprint Brunswick, Keep Brunswick and the Golden Isles Beautiful, and Habitat for Humanity.  Active with local youth, he has presided as president of Okefenokee Council of Boy Scouts of America, Boys Club of Glynn, and the GA. Area Council for Boys and Girls Clubs of America.  He and his wife Sylvia reside on St. Simons.

Bill Stembler Chairman/CEO and Founder of the Georgia Theatre Company II.  In the twenty years since it was formed, Georgia Theatre Company II has grown to 300 screens in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia.  After two years as an enforcement attorney with the SEC, Bill entered the theatre business in 1973 with the original Georgia Theatre Company as House Counsel.  By 1983, he was President and in 1986 managed the sale of the company to United Artists Theatres for whom he worked the next two years as a Vice President.  He is a graduate of the University of Florida and received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Georgia Law School.   He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Georgia and the Board of Visitors of the UGA Law School.  Bill is a past Chairman of the National Association of Theatre Owners and a past president of the Capital City Club and the Rotary Club of Atlanta.  He first came to the Golden Isles as an infant as the fourth generation of his family to vacation here and he and his wife Anne became permanent residents of St. Simons Island over ten years ago.

Tom Sublett was born and grew up mainly in Virginia, he did live in Florida for a couple of years during childhood.  Tom has three college degrees; his Bachelor's degree is from Virginia Tech.  He is married to Carol and they have 4 children, two Daughters and two Sons.  Tom & Carol reside on St. Simons. He worked for Fortune 100 corporations in the food industry, such as McCormick & Company and Sara Lee Corporation, prior to being Sr. V.P. for King & Prince Seafood here locally for eight years.  After 25 years in corporate industry, he semi-retired after the sale of King & Prince Seafood and now sells real estate part-time for Parker-Kaufman Realtors.   He is involved in many local community organizations including being past Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, member of The Rotary Club of Brunswick, former Chairman and current board member of Coastal GA United Way, currently a board member and Secretary of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation, Live Oak Society member of the Land Trust, and Jr. Warden of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Brunswick.  He is also currently serving a four year term, starting in January 2009, as a Glynn County Commissioner and currently serves at the Chair.

Emeritus

Mr. Frank DeLoach, Jr.

Mr. Bill Jones III

Mr. Jack Dinos