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Williams joins Altamaha Bank and Trust Board of Directors

Altamaha Bank and Trust Board of Directors is pleased to announce the election of Tommie Williams to its board of directors. Mr. Williams’ knowledge and experience as previously serving on the board is welcoming and certain to be beneficial to the board. Tommie Williams can be described as a Renaissance man. He is an awardwinning olive farmer and miller as well as an entrepreneur who has created several successful businesses in Georgia. He is welltraveled and has worked in several countries including Israel, China, Belize and Italy. Educated in the fine arts, Tommie has taught art to high school students in the Georgia public school system and to Israeli workers on a kibbutz in Israel. He has also spent time replicating Creek Indian earthen vessels to foster his creative calling. Tommie is moderately proficient in several foreign languages including Hebrew and Italian. He has served the State of Georgia as a State Senator rising to the ranks of Majority Leader and the highest position as a Senator, Senate President Pro Tempore. During his 18 years of service to Georgia, Tommie was considered a problem solver and a consensus builder. He was instrumental in bringing the Cancer Treatment Centers of America to Georgia and helping pass Ava’s Law to support Georgia’s autistic children and their families. He also helped design legislation that provided for the revitalization of Jekyll Island, the funding of Georgia Transportation, and the creation of career academies like Southeastern Early College and Career Academy.

In his earlier years, Tommie was an onion farmer in Toombs County. During that time, he served on the Vidalia Onion Committee that obtained the federal marketing order in the late 1980s, which put the Vidalia Sweet onion on the map. He also served as the Toombs-Montgomery Chamber of Commerce President.

In 1987, he founded Georgia Pine Straw, Inc., which markets native pine straw to landscapers and retail outlets across the country. Georgia Pine Straw has grown into a multi-million dollar business that offers jobs to many local residents. Additionally, Tommie co-founded Williams Development Company, a property rental and land development business, and Creek Shoals Estates, an upscale community in South Georgia designed with the environment in mind. In 2009, he established Terra Dolce Farms, a thriving 30-acre olive farm in Southeast Georgia. In 2018, Tommie and his family moved to Rome, Italy, where he served as Minister Counselor of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. In this USDA position, he worked closely with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program to develop solutions and policies on food security for the world. Tommie’s leadership skills and his sincere desire to help others as a servant to the people have gained him many accolades over the years. For several years, he was recognized by Georgia Trend magazine as one of “100 Most Influential Georgians.” Tommie currently lives with his wife Stephanie and their children Emma Kate and Jack in Lyons, Georgia. They are also parents to Madison Beverly, who recently blessed them with their first grandchild. Tommie continues to manage his olive farm and run his other businesses always mindful of new opportunities on the horizon.

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