Board of Directors
Jim King – Chairman
Chairman Jim King is a seasoned land planner and landscape architect with a passion for preserving water resources and cultivating carefully planned development and growth. Jim is a city and regional planner serving almost a dozen planning organizations including the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, the Georgia Mountains Regional Development Council, the Upper Etowah Basin Water Resource Planning Committee, the Dawson County Grassroots Economic Planning Committee and advisory councils for Georgia’s Regional Transportation Authority and state’s departments of Community Affairs and Industry, Trade and Tourism.
Jim also served two terms as the District 3 Commissioner and vice-chairman of the Dawson County Board of Commissioners. He owns a multi-disciplinary firm of landscape architects, land planners, civil engineers, and surveyors in Dawsonville, Ga. Jim lives in Dawson County with his three children. He has been part of EWSA’s board since 2006.
Tony Kellar – Vice Chairman
Vice Chairman Tony Kellar continues a distinguished 20-plus career with Chick-fil-A, Inc., where he worked his way from the corporate offices into ownership and operation of Chick-fil-A restaurants. Tony owns and operates the locations in Dawsonville and Dahlonega, and did the same in Charlotte, N.C. for 10 years.
Tony graduated with a Bachelors of Business degree from Kennesaw State College. He is an avid baseball coach, and a member of the advisory board for Dawson County Parks and Recreation.
Tony has been married to Gwen (Adams) for 21 years. The couple have three children, 2 attend Dawson County schools and their eldest son is attending Georgia Institute of Technology. Tony serves on the Dawson County High School Advisory Council and is a member of Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce. Tony has been part of the EWSA board since 2009.
Linda Townley
Secretary Linda Townley has a rich history in Dawson County. The native is serving her third term as Dawson County Tax Commissioner and was the Mayor of Dawsonville. She served as a member of the Dawson County School Board for nine years, and led the board as chairman for three years.
Linda was selected to represent smaller counties in Georgia for the Tax Commissioners’ Technology Council of Georgia. She uses her business and accounting prowess, which includes an accounting degree from North Georgia College & State University, to guide EWSA’s phenomenal growth.
She also is a member of the Dawson County Kiwanis Club. Linda was a budget control analyst for Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Ga. for 35 years and she has three children and six grandchildren. She has been an EWSA board
Deborah Stowers
Board Member Deborah Stowers was born and raised in Dawson County and has spent most of her life here. A successful and respected businesswoman, Deborah owned Lanier Employment Services for 20 years and sold it to Spherion, a leading recruiting and staffing provider, in 2006. She continues her work as the director of professional recruiting at Spherion, and demonstrates great devotion to the community through civic involvement.
She served as a board member for nine years with No One Alone, which provides a safe haven and support for victims of family violence. Deborah also served as a board member for RING for nine years, has been a member of the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce for 15 years and a member of Rotary International for 20 years. She raised both of her sons in Dawson County, and is a grandmother to four children. Deborah has been a member of EWSA’s board since 2009.
Doug Schuster – Secretary
Board Member Doug Schuster has 30 years’ experience providing transformational solutions in finance, accounting, risk, business process & governance. He has served on numerous executive leadership and steering committees of fortune 500 companies to support strategic initiatives driving companies’ performance while adhering to high ethical and regulatory standards. His current role is North American Solution Leader for Arvato Financial Solutions.
Doug graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with an accounting major from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. He also holds an MBA in Finance and Business Law from Canisius. He is Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). He is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), which focuses on emerging practices in operational accounting, regulation, ethics, governance, and advanced analytics.
Doug has resided in Dawson County for 23 years with his two children. His daughter attends Piedmont College and son attends Dawson County High School.
