Georgia United Methodist Foundation names new board chair and vice chair

The Georgia United Methodist Foundation announces the election of a new chair and vice chair to oversee the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Ruth A. Knox was named Chair of the Georgia United Methodist Foundation Board of Trustees, and Rev. Doreen Smalls was named Vice Chair of the Board.
 
Knox, who works with the Hall-Knox Foundation and is a retired president of Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga., began her two-year term on July 1, 2023. Knox served as a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees from 2011 – 2017, and she returned to the Board in 2018. She succeeds Kathryn Dennis, president of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, who will now serve as Immediate Past Chair.
 
“It has been an honor to serve as the Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees for these two years,” says Dennis. “Ruth Knox is the perfect person to succeed me as Chair. Her decades of experience as an attorney, a leader in higher education, and her deep commitment to the church and the larger community will further elevate the work of the Board of Trustees and the Foundation in the coming years.” 
 
Dennis also shared that she is equally pleased with the election of Rev. Smalls as Vice Chair of the Board. Rev. Smalls is a pastor in the South Georgia Annual Conference, currently serving on the Bishop’s Cabinet as District Superintendent of the Northwest and Southwest Districts.
 
“The Georgia United Methodist Foundation is delighted in the election of Rev. Doreen Smalls as Vice Chair of the board,” said Dr. Rick Lanford, Regional Vice President for the Georgia United Methodist Foundation. “Rev. Smalls is an amazing and extremely gifted clergy member of South Georgia. She is known and trusted for her leadership within our Annual Conference. We are delighted that she is not only on our board but will serve as our Vice Chair.”  
 
Both the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees are elected from among the current Trustees of the Foundation. As Chair, Knox will give general supervision and direction to the affairs of the Foundation. Additionally, she will preside over all meetings of the Board of Trustees and of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. 
 
In other news, the Foundation welcomed Calvin Stamps, owner of Atlanta-based Bretwood Capital Partners, as a returning member to the Board of Trustees and extended a grateful goodbye to David A. Duke, who completed his terms of service.
 
“David has provided faithful leadership for the Foundation over many years, serving as Chair of the Board of Trustees and in various leadership roles, most recently as Immediate Past Chair and Chair of the Foundation’s Finance and Audit Committee,” said Russell H. Jones, Foundation Senior Vice president, CFO, and Treasurer. “I have worked with David closely over many years and appreciate his commitment to the church and the Foundation. The Foundation will remember his service as a member of the Board of Trustees with gratitude for years to come.”
 
To learn more about the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, click here.