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Barbara Andersen retired as Executive Director of the Blount-Oneonta Chamber of Commerce in 2022. Although she stepped into that position in 2018, her affiliation with the Chamber reaches back almost 15 years during which she contributed as a volunteer and served multiple terms on the Board of Directors and a term as Board Chairman. She is also a graduate of the Chamber’s Blount County Leadership Class. Andersen holds a BS and MS in Civil Engineering and spent 25 years in engineering and construction and another 11 years in the real estate industry. She was named by Business Alabama Magazine as one of Blount County’s “Movers and Shapers" in April of 2017. Her commitment to Blount County runs deep and can be seen in her involvement in numerous local organizations and non-profits such as the Master Gardeners Association, the Beekeepers Association, the Rotary Club and the Oneonta Historic Preservation Commission as well as making occasional appearances on the stage with the Covered Bridge Players. Andersen also serves on the City of Oneonta Zoning Board of Adjustments. She and her husband, John Cantlin, live in Oneonta. In her spare time, she enjoys CrossFit, beekeeping, reading, gardening and traveling. Andersen says, “Blount County is such a special place to call home. It is a real privilege to be able to work every day to make it even better!”
Contact: barbara@blountoneontachamber.org |
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Kendra Gilliland is from Blountsville, AL. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in elementary/early childhood education in 1996, and went on to get a master’s degree in education in 2002. After college, Kendra came back to Blount County and taught 3rd grade at Hayden Elementary for several years. Then, after 11 years of mainly staying home, Kendra went back to teaching at Mt. Pleasant Christian School. She taught there for 4 years before beginning to work full time for Spring Valley Beach, her husband, Travis’s family-owned business. Previously, Kendra had worked at Spring Valley Beach during the summers. She took over the bookkeeping for the park after her mother-in-law retired in 2017. Now Kendra is the office manager as well as the bookkeeper and payroll clerk for the water park. Kendra and her husband have a son, Trace, who was born in 2003, and a daughter, Lilli, who was born in 2007. In her spare time, Kendra likes to exercise outside, read, and research.
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Brett King is from Locust Fork, Alabama, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law. Brett graduated first in his class in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University (B.S. 2001) before continuing his education at Yale University in New Haven, CT. After law school, Brett returned to his hometown to start a law practice, which now has three locations (Locust Fork, Oneonta, and Birmingham). Brett has tried numerous jury cases to verdict, as well as handling appeals before Alabama’s appellate courts. In 2017, he was appointed by the Blount County Commission as our county's first representative on the Birmingham Water Works Board. Brett and his wife, Danya, have three children, Ella (12), Zeth (11), and Asa (9). Brett and his family live on a secluded stretch of the Blackburn Fork near Nectar.
Contact: southblount@gmail.com |
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Roger Thorne grew up in East Tennessee, very much a son of Appalachia. It was there the seed for the love of nature was planted, but the realization we must do everything possible to protect pristine environments came later. The Holly Springs community of Blount County became home to Roger in 1990 while he was working at the Birmingham Police Department. After retiring from the department, he embarked on a second career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Substance Abuse Programs, overseeing Jefferson County’s treatment courts. In 2016, he retired from UAB and later started freelancing for The Blount Countian newspaper, a job he relinquished at the end of 2020. That experience allowed him to get to know the county and its people more intimately. Roger and his wife, Teresa, have traveled all over the world, but always love to come home and enjoy the splendor of Blount County, its natural resources, and the cherished friends they have made.
Roger has a Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Science with a minor in Criminal Justice. |
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Dinah Wilson (Chair) spent her early years in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky where she gained an appreciation for nature and being in the outdoors. After many years of residence in the state of Florida, Dinah made her home in Blount County in 1998. Her education includes an Associate of Arts Degree from Valencia Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development from Empire State College. She is a Certified Humane Educator, has training in Emergency Animal Sheltering, grant writing, bookkeeping and non-profit management. Dinah has fifteen years experience in non-profit management where she did grant writing, community education and strategic planning. She was instrumental in establishing an animal shelter and a spay/neuter program in Blount County. Her employment history includes serving as a USDA Inspector for the Florida Dept. of Agriculture, Administration Assistant for a Florida Law Firm, which included managing trust, cost and general accounts and years of agriculture and forestry. Outdoor activities include kayaking, hiking and gardening. She enjoys exhibition line dancing and is a classic car enthusiast. Dinah describes herself as community oriented and an adventurer at heart.
Contact: dwilson@flfral.com |
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Kala Bhattar has been a volunteer for the Friends of the Locust Fork River since October 2021. She is an undergraduate double-major student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in political science and international studies with a minor in human rights. She is a full-time student and also an intern at the Institute for Human Rights at UAB as one of their blog writers. Her goals as the Diversity, Equity, and Integration Leader for the Friends of the Locust Fork River (FLFR) are to encourage a diverse community, not only in its representation, but also in its equal access to opportunities. As part of her academic journey, Kala has been especially focused on environmental issues, both climate change and environmental racism. This focus gives her a unique perspective to advise the FLFR board on matters of equity, inclusiveness, and unity, through an environmental justice approach.
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