Members of the Georgia Bankers Association (GBA) have elected and installed officers and eight new members to its board of directors for the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

H. Palmer Proctor Jr., president and CEO of Fidelity Bank, Atlanta, was installed as the 128th Chairman of the Georgia Bankers Association. Members elected John Hall, president and CEO, American Pride Bank, Macon, as Chairman Elect and Chuck Copeland, president and CEO, First National Bank of Griffin, as Vice Chairman.

“I’m honored my peers have placed their trust in me as GBA Chairman for the coming year as we’ll be marking 125 years of serving Georgia’s banks,” Proctor said. “Our predecessors created this organization back in 1892 with a common goal in mind: to deal with the friction points against our industry, educate bankers to be the best professionals they can be and find ways to make banking better, not just for the banks, but for the people Georgia communities we serve. I am excited about helping GBA continue being the resource to meet those needs for its members.”

Eight new board members elected by their peers or appointed to At Large positions to begin their terms are:

·         Group 2: Glenn Willis, president, South Georgia Banking Company, Tifton

·         Group 4: Johnny Smith, president and CEO, Newton Federal Bank, Covington

·         Group 6: Henry Pope, president and CEO, Exchange Bank, Milledgeville

·         Group 8: Michael Lee, regional president, Ameris Bank, Valdosta

·         Group 10: Rhodes McLanahan, president and CEO, First American Bank & Trust Company, Athens

·         At Large: Harold Reynolds, chairman and CEO, BankSouth, Greensboro

·         At Large: Scott Beeley, president and CEO, Bank of Terrell, Dawson

·         Wade Johnson of the Durden Banking Company, Swainsboro, president of the Leadership GBA Executive Committee, is that group’s representative.

About the Georgia Bankers Association: Founded in 1892, the Georgia Bankers Association promotes the general welfare and usefulness of banking and the preservation of a sound banking system. For 125 years, the GBA has provided Georgia’s banks with top-quality professional development, revenue-enhancing products and services, government relations and public advocacy.