GNTC announces five new Board of Directors members

Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) announces the appointments of Josh Ingle, Tyler Kendall, Jeff Petrea, Jessica “Missy” Puckett and Megan Talley to its Board of Directors.

Ingle has served as superintendent of Dade County Schools since 2021. His previous positions with the school system include director of Public Programs and Capital Projects, district director of Public Safety and principal of Davis Elementary School, and principal of Dade County High School.

He earned an education specialist degree and a master’s degree in Education Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Ingle has participated in various leadership initiatives, including the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI), GLISI’s Developing High Performing Leaders at All Levels, GLISI’s Rising Stars Leadership Development program and the University of Georgia’s Early Career Principal’s Residency Program.

Selected presentations he has given include “Student Attendance Initiative” for the Student Support Team Association for Georgia Educators, “Leading for Effective School Climate” for a Georgia Department of Education conference and “Recruiting and Retaining Highly Effective Teachers” for Georgia Race to the Top, an initiative to improve K-12 education in Georgia.

Ingle is a member of the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders, Professional Association of Georgia Educators and Trenton-Dade Optimist Club. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Dade County Health Department.

Kendall joined Hamilton Health Care System as vice president of Post-Acute Care Services in 2018. His achievements there have included transitioning four skilled nursing facilities from third-party management to in-house management, oversight of Hamilton Hospice and repositioning of Continuing Care Retirement Community from a buy-in facility to a rental model, which has increased occupancy and increased financial performance.

He previously worked at Mary E. Bivins Foundation in Amarillo, Texas, where he was administrator before becoming the agency’s director of operations. The Bivins Foundation is a private, senior-focused, not-for-profit that supports the elderly, funds the education of Christian ministers and addresses critical community needs.

He also worked as executive director of Grand Court Lifestyles in Amarillo, Texas; administrator at Camlu Care Center in Temple, Texas; and administrator in training at Living Centers of America in Fort Worth, Texas.

Kendall earned a bachelor’s degree in Long-Term Care Administration at Texas State University.

Kendall’s numerous leadership accomplishments include the Georgia Hospital Association Leadership Institute, vice president of the Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy’s Board of Directors, Leadership Dalton-Whitfield, Arrow Ministries advisory board member, Amarillo Better Business Bureau’s treasurer, and LeadingAge Texas where he served as a panhandle network representative and as a board member.

Petrea currently works as Georgia Power’s region executive for northwest Georgia, where he and his team are responsible for establishing and maintaining effective relationships with community leaders and elected officials across the region. He also works with power delivery, power generation, customer service and sales.

Petrea, a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in Management, previously served as Georgia Power’s region director for northeast Georgia.

Throughout his 40 years with the company, beginning in Distribution as a Co-operative Education student while attending Georgia Tech, Petrea has held numerous positions, including working in Accounting Systems to support Property Accounting, Charitable Giving as assistant to the senior vice president, Corporate Services as assistant to the vice president, Customer Service as a Customer Care Center supervisor, External Affairs and Nuclear Development as assistant to the executive vice president, Pricing and Rates where he supported rate filings and created Georgia Power’s Green Energy Program, and as area manager for the North Metro area.

Petrea has served on multiple boards, including recent chair roles on Envision Athens and Athens Technical College Foundation Inc. He served as public policy chair at the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. He is currently transitioning membership from the Rotary Club of Athens to the Rome chapter.

Puckett, nursing director for Atrium Health Floyd, coordinates operational management of beds and staffing. She oversees all admissions from operating room, emergency room, direct admissions, transfers and any transfers within the hospital; she also supervises centralized staffing, contracted nursing labor, nursing payroll, centralized transport, float pool nursing, sitters, certified nursing assistants and house supervisors.

Puckett has more than three decades of nursing experience. She previously worked at Floyd Polk Medical Center, Polk Medical Center, Amedisys Home Health, The Specialty Hospital and Redmond Regional Medical Center.

Puckett earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Nursing at Chamberlain University and an associate degree of Nursing at Georgia Highlands College. She has taught Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Basic Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

Among her accomplishments, she has received the President’s Award at Atrium Health Floyd and the Frist Humanitarian Award. She has Six Sigma Global Institute Green Belt, Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), Clinical Practice Improvement (CPI) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) certifications.

Talley currently serves as director of Human Resources, Safety/Training and Administration at Dalton Utilities, where she is responsible for the oversight and management of all Human Resources, Payroll, Safety/Training and Administrative programs. She joined Dalton Utilities in 2011 as a Gas Regulatory Compliance coordinator in the energy sector with a focus on natural gas regulatory compliance.

Prior to working at Dalton Utilities, she was employed at various industries in Dalton, including the Minor Firm, Appalachian Community Bank and the Whitfield County Clerk’s Office.

Born and raised in Dalton, Talley earned an associate degree in Business Administration at Dalton State College and subsequently earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management at Covenant College.

Talley obtained her Professional certificate in Human Resources from the Human Resources Certification Institute. She is an alumna of Leadership Dalton-Whitfield and a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, both locally and nationally. She participates in quarterly mock interviews at the Elite Lineman Training Institute to help prepare students for the workforce.

Ingle, Kendall, Petrea, and Talley were sworn in at the March Board of Directors meeting, Puckett will be sworn in at the May board meeting.

Listed are members of GNTC’s Board of Directors showing the board member’s name, county, place of employment and title:

• Retired Chief Magistrate Judge L. Gale Buckner, Murray, Murray County Magistrate Court
• Ben Canedo, Walker, Roper Corp., Human Resources senior business partner
• Torrance Ford, Catoosa, Shaw Industries Group Inc., Talent Management vice president
• Albert “Al” Hodge, Floyd, Hodge Consulting, founder and chief executive officer
• Josh Ingle, Dade, Dade County School District, superintendent
• Tyler Kendall, Whitfield, Hamilton Health Care System, Post-Acute Care Services vice president
• Paul Meredith, Chattooga, Mohawk, Manufacturing director
• Jeff Petrea, Floyd, Southern Co., northwest Georgia region executive
• Jessica “Missy” Puckett, Polk, Atrium Health Floyd, nursing director
• Kenna Stock, Floyd, Harbin Clinic, chief executive officer
• Megan Talley, Whitfield, Dalton Utilities, Human Resources, Safety/Training and Administration director
• Michele Taylor, Gordon, Calhoun City Schools, superintendent