New Liberty County Development Authority Board Chairman Al Williams speaks at a recent news conference as new Vice Chairwoman Melissa Carter Ray (left) and new Secretary Willa Lewis look on.
State representative now leads development board
Liberty County Development Authority Board is under new leadership. After more than two decades with former Hinesville Mayor Allen Brown as chairman, the board has elected state Rep. Al Williams as chairman.
“I am pleased that the board trusts me enough to elect me as the new chairman,” Williams said. “I have big shoes to fill but feel I’m up to the task with other board members’ backing.
Brown could not run for re-election as mayor because of term limits. Provisions in the state Constitution setting up LCDA calls for seven seats on its board, two of them are reserved, one for the mayor of Hinesville and the other for chairman of the Liberty County Board of Commissioners.
The other seats are appointed by the Hinesville City Council and Board of Commissioners.
Besides Williams, board members also voted their former Secretary Melissa Carter Ray to step up to the vice-chairman’s seat, which Williams had previously held. And they elected Member Willa Lewis to be secretary. Ray is an insurance agent and owns a State Farm agency in Hinesville. Lewis is a retired banker.
Other board members are Board of Commissioners Chairman Donald Lovette, new Hinesville Mayor Karl Riles, engineer Marcus Sack and attorney Luke Moses.