Lieutenant General David B. Poythress, retiring Adjutant General for Georgia, has named fifteen prominent Georgians to a new senior advisory board to the Adjutant General.

Named to the new Civilian Aide to the Adjutant General Advisory Board are Command Chief Master Sergeant (Ret.) Pearson Deloach of Savannah; P.I Joy of Lilburn; T. Glenn Thompson of Winder; Sunny Park of Atlanta; Coy A. Short of Kennesaw; Song Kim of Atlanta, Mary Lou Austin of Atlanta; Michael Worley of Atlanta ; Nicholas Snider of Atlanta, and Mitchell Bush of Savannah. Also named to the advisory board are Tina Coria of McDonough, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) William Wigley of Rome; Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Virlyn Slaton of Morrow; Brig Gen. (Ret.) Joel Seymour of Elberton; and Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Thomas McCullough of Atlanta.

According to Poythress, this program is closely patterned after national Civilian Aide  programs to the military which have existed since 1922. The mission of the Civilian Aide to the TAG will be to promote good relations between the National Guard and public by acting as advisors to the Adjutant General.

“I am pleased that these civic and business leaders and prior service military and National Guard members have agreed to serve and to share their perspective to the Adjutant General, “ said Lt. Gen. David Poythress, retiring Adjutant General for Georgia. “ I am confident that the Georgia National Guard will welcome the advice and counsel of this group of prominent Georgians.”

Ten civilian aides named to the board are local civic and business leaders. T. Glenn Thompson of Winder and P.I Joy of Lilburn are members of the Board of Directors of American United Bancorps, Inc. Sunny Park is a chairman of General Building Maintenance Inc. and an active volunteer with the Georgia Youth Challenge Academy and the USO of Georgia. Coy A. Short, retired deputy commission for communications and community relations of Atlanta Social Security and is an active volunteer with Georgia’s Youth Challenge Academy, the USO of Georgia, and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

Mitchell Bush is President and CEO of Bush Insurance Agency in Savannah and President of the USO of Georgia. Tina Coria of McDonough is co-chair of the National Guard Youth Challenge Foundation Legislative Committee. Song Kim of Atlanta is an Atlanta businessman and artist. Mary Lou Austin is Executive Director of the USO of Georgia. Michael Worley is Assistant to the Executive Vice President of Georgia Power Company and has worked on behalf of the Georgia National Guard Foundation. Nicholas Snider is Chairman and Founder of the Museum of Patriotism and a retired Senior Vice President of United Parcel Service.

Five civilian aides are former Georgia National Guard members. Command Chief Master Sergeant (Ret.) Pearson Deloach of Savannah is currently Director of the Leisure Service Bureau in Savannah.

Brig. Gen. William Wigley of Rome is an active volunteer with Georgia’s Youth Challenge Academy, the USO, and ESGR. Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Virlyn Slaton is a City Commissioner in Morrow and Administrator and Trustee of the Georgia National Guard Insurance Trust. Brig. Gen (Ret.) Joel Seymour of Elberton is the previous commander of the Georgia State Defense Force. Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Thomas McCullough is a former commander of the Georgia Army National Guard and an active volunteer for Georgia’s Youth Challenge, the USO, and the ESGR.