New Members Appointed to Reinhardt Board of Trustees

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New Active and Ex-Officio Members Appointed to the Reinhardt University Board of Trustees

Four new members have joined the ranks of Reinhardt University’s Board of Trustees. Active Members Ben Looper and Gin Miller and Ex-Officio members Pam Carnes and The Rev. Tim Emmett were recently appointed to the board. All were nominated and approved as a full board members by the Board in fall 2012, and each will be confirmed as a member by the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church in mid-June 2013.

“With extensive professional backgrounds and immense talents in each of their fields, all will bring a new and welcomed perspective on helping the University continue to develop and grow in a positive direction,” William “Billy” G. Hasty, Jr. ’67, Board chairman. “I am delighted these four dedicated professionals are willing to serve on the Board, and we look forward to their participation.”

LooperLooper’s Background

Ben Looper is CEO and President of Southeast Restoration Group – a Christian-led company that specializes in the insurance restoration industry. He is also CEO/President of Southeast Holding Group of GA, Inc. and Partner of Trilogy Salon.

His professional awards and accomplishments include: AJC Small Business of the Month (March 2005); Cherokee Living Magazine’s Top 20 under 40 (2009); Crawford & Co. – Performance Excellence Award -Southeast Region (2007 and 2011) and Excellence in Achievement Award (2006-’11); and Inc. Magazine’s 500 Fastest Growing Businesses in America (2011).

Looper is, among many roles, on the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Northside Hospital Cherokee Authority Board, Lanier Joint Development Authority Board of Directors, A DAY for Reinhardt Executive Committee.

A graduate of Sequoyah High School, Looper and his wife, Brandy, reside in Canton, Ga., with their three children, Kennedy, Holden and Mabry.

MillerMiller’s Background

Gin Miller is best known as the innovative force behind the fitness phenomena Step Training revolution. Her concepts and creativity laid the foundation for “step aerobics,” earning her the worldwide reputation as a preeminent fitness program creator and exercise professional.

Miller currently runs her own company, Gin Miller Productions, LLC and serves as a consultant for corporations in wellness programming and fitness product development. Recent projects include product design, programming and inbox workouts for Fitness EM – a product developer for the Empower & Danskin brands of home exercise equipment, available in major retailers nationwide.

Her career highlights include: creator of Step Training and Ramping, winner of the 1991 IDEA Instructor of the Year award, World Fitness Festival Innovation Award and 2006 Inductee into the National Fitness Hall of Fame. Miller is also a founding member of Reebok University Faculty serving on the Research & Program Development, Research & Programming, And Product Programming Teams.

Miller was featured in Cooking Light’s fitness column “Good Moves,” and she served as a contributing writer for Shape, Fitness, Fit, Family Circle, Self, Good Housekeeping, People, USA Today, Glamour, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Ladies Home Journal, Weight Watchers and Parents magazines. Her Television appearances include CNN, The Today Show and CBS.

Miller, has one son, Ian, and resides in Woodstock, Ga. She is a member of Watermarke Church.

CarnesCarnes’ Background

Pam Carnes, a native of Thomson, Ga., currently serves as President & CEO of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held since 1996. She began her career with the Cherokee County Chamber in January 1991 and formerly held the positions of Vice President of Operations, Interim President and Membership Director.

A graduate of the University of Georgia, Carnes also graduated from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management, the Regional Leadership Institute, and Leadership Cherokee.

A Georgia Certified Chamber Executive and former member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, she served on the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (GACCE) Board of Directors from 1998-2010 serving as the organization’s Chair in 2005-06. She was honored by GACCE in 2010 as their Executive of the Year.

Carnes serves on the Regional Business Coalition Policy Board and as an Ex-Officio member of the Development Authority of Cherokee County. She also serves as President of the Reinhardt University Ambassadors and Immediate Past-Chair of the Chattahoochee Technical College Board of Directors (Georgia’s largest technical college). A member of the Board of Directors for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Foundation, as well as the Advisory Boards for United Way in Cherokee County and Cherokee CARES, Carnes was named the 2010 ‘Business Woman of the Year’ by the Canton-Cherokee Business and Professional Women’s Club.

Carnes and her husband, Brian, have two daughters, Sarah and Rebekah. They reside in Canton, and are active members of the First United Methodist Church of Canton.

emmettEmmett’s Background

The Rev. Tim Emmett serves as pastor of Waleska United Methodist Church in Waleska, Ga., and as  Reinhardt’s Interim Campus Minister. Emmett earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bucknell University in 1991 and a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School in 1995. He and his wife, Susannah, have two children, Molly and Luke, and reside in Canton, Ga.

About Reinhardt University

Founded in 1883, Reinhardt University is focused on shaping lives and building futures. As a private comprehensive university affiliated with the United Methodist Church, Reinhardt offers 40 graduate and undergraduate programs, ranging from business and education to music and theater. 

Reinhardt has two locations- a residential campus in Cherokee County in Waleska, Ga., and a center focused on adults in Alpharetta, Ga., and it offers selected programs in Cartersville, Marietta, and Woodstock, Ga. Additional attractions on the Waleska campus include the Falany Performing Arts Center and the Funk Heritage Center.

For more information, please contact Reinhardt at 770-720-5526 or 1-87-REINHARDT or see the University website at www.reinhardt.edu.