Board of Directors

James “Jim” M. Johns was elected to the Board of Directors at GreyStone Power in 2009, and currently serves as Chair. Johns has been a Delta Airlines employee since 1979, where he currently works as a Flight Training Procedure Instructor. Prior to working at Delta, he was a vocational teacher at Douglas County High School and also taught adult education programs.

Johns is a U.S. Army veteran having served in Vietnam. He earned a master’s degree from Purdue University and an Educational Specialist degree from Georgia State University. He has served on the Board of Elders and Deacons for the First Christian Church of Mableton and continues to be an active member of the congregation. A resident of Lithia Springs since 1984, he and his wife, Renee, have a son and daughter.

Genevieve B. Cole was elected to the Board in 2015. She has served the banking industry through a 44-year banking career in Paulding County and has held numerous leadership roles as President, CEO, EVP and bank director for 18 years. She is currently continuing her service as a community banker with Small Town Bank as the Paulding County President.

She is a graduate of Chattahoochee Technical College as well as C&S Lending School, Georgia Banking School, Commercial Lending School and the LSU Graduate School of Banking. A native of Paulding County, she lives in Dallas where she serves in numerous nonprofit organizations. In her first three years of service as a Board member of GreyStone, Cole completed her studies and achieved the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate awarded by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and has completed the second level, Board Leadership Certificate, with NRECA.

“These 15 robust series of educational courses have been instrumental in my better understanding the operations of a cooperative in order to enhance GreyStone and my service to the Board, which has been a privilege,” she says.

David Hagenow is retired from IBM with nearly three decades of financial planning and accounting experience. Prior to retirement, Hagenow created, measured and reported on expense and resource budgets for IBM Global, worked as team lead/forecastcoordinator for North America IBM and has certification in Certified Management Accounting. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Hagenow served for 3 1/2 years with training in power generation. He graduated from Western Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree and earned a Master of Accountancy degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Hagenow has earned the Director Gold certification, as well as the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate and the Board Leadership Certificate from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Hagenow has been serving on the board since 2016 and currently serves as secretary-treasurer.

“My desire is to help GreyStone Power balance outstanding service with affordable rates for all members. In addition, I will use my background in financial planning and analysis to help ensure the cooperative makes good strategic, fiscal decisions,” he says.

John Walton has been on the GreyStone board since 2001 and formerly served as vice chair. A graduate of the University of West Georgia in 1973, Walton is retired from Builder Specialties and owns John Walton Builders and Rental in Paulding County.

A member of the Civil Service Board for Paulding County, he served his county as a Paulding County commissioner from 1987 to 1990. He has served in the past as the vice president of the Board of Directors for the Paulding County Builders Association and was on the Paulding County Planning and Zoning Board from 1991 to 1995. He is a former member of the Paulding County Hospital Board, the Advisory Board for Georgia State Bank and the Board of Directors of Westside Bank.

He has also served on the Advisory Board for Oglethorpe Power Corporation/Georgia Transmission Corporation/Georgia System Operations Corporation, companies that provide and manage a significant portion of GreyStone's wholesale power. Through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), he has earned his Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) certification and the Board Leadership Certificate (BLC). He formerly served as GreyStone’s delegate at NRECA national meetings.

“It is an honor to represent GreyStone Power members on their Board of Directors. While we have challenges ahead, in the past we have shown that we have strength in numbers. That strength will lead us to success. My goal as a board member has been to provide reliable service at competitive rates. I will continue to do all that I can to be sure that this tradition of excellent service at reasonable rates continues,” he says.

Neal Dettmering was elected to the board in October 2015. He has served as Judge of the State Court of Douglas County since 2001, and practiced law privately in Douglasville from 1974 through 2001. He has also served as GreyStone’s general legal counsel from 1992 to 2001, and during that time served as Treasurer and Chairman of the Georgia Electric Membership Counsel Association.

Dettmering earned a doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in education from Auburn University. He also played as a defensive lineman for the Auburn Tigers. He has served his community through the Boy Scouts of America, the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce, and the Rotary Club. He has also coached youth sports and served in supportive roles at his church. Dettmering and his family reside in Winston, GA.

“I joined the GreyStone board to further expand my involvement in my community. I enjoy serving as a GreyStone director because it allows me to use my training and experience to help continue the services GreyStone provides to the communities it serves, both in its capacity as a power supplier and as a citizen of these communities. My varied experience in the legal field, particularly my past experience as GreyStone’s legal counsel and my service on the Georgia EMC Association, has allowed me to better understand GreyStone’s functions and capabilities. This allows me to make more informed decisions regarding GreyStone’s operations," Dettmering says. 

Billy F. Mayhew is market executive senior vice president with ServisFirst Bank in Douglasville. He formerly worked for Douglas County Bank from 1980 until 2013, serving as bank president and CEO for 28 years. He is a graduate of University of West Georgia. Mayhew was a founding board member of the Douglas County Boys Club in 1982, now the Douglas County Boys & Girls Club, and was awarded the Boys & Girls Club Lifetime Achievement Award in December 2003. He has also served on the boards of the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce, the WellStar Regional Board, the Douglas County Regional Youth Shelter, Community Bankers of Georgia and PRC Medical of Douglas County. He is currently chairman of the Hospital Authority of Douglas County.

Having earned the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Mayhew is working toward his Board Leadership certification. Since joining the GreyStone Power Board of Directors in 2018, he has served on the Finance Committee and currently serves on the Policy, Public and Employee Relations Committee.

“It is a true honor to serve on the GreyStone Power Board,” he says. “My focus is to represent co-op members by maintaining low rates and excellent service.”

Maribeth Wansley has served on the Board of Directors since 2005 and formerly served as vice chair. A native of Atlanta who has lived in Palmetto since 1987, she is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in advertising. Wansley worked as a broadcast producer in radio and television in the Atlanta area before switching to the environmental education/nonprofit industry from which she retired in 2012.

For seven years, Wansley has represented GreyStone Power on the Board of Directors of Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, the statewide trade association. The mission of GEMC is to provide leadership and unity to EMCs through advocacy, education and communications.

Through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), she has earned her Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) certification and the Board Leadership Certificate (BLC).

Wansley and her dog, Murphy, are training to become a nationally-certified therapy team. She and her husband, a retired high school teacher, have two sons (one deceased) and one grandson.

“For 18 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed representing my district on the GreyStone Board of Directors. Your board works as a team to provide the most reliable service at the best rate. Working with such a group of professionals toward the common good of serving our members is very rewarding,” she said.

Milton Jones was first elected to the board in 2005 and formerly served as chair. Through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), he has earned certifications for Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), Board Leadership Certificate (BLC) and the Director Gold Credential (GOLD), awarded to less than 25 percent of EMC directors nationally.

A senior systems engineer at IBM Corporation, Jones retired in 2001 after nearly 33 years in information technology and training assignments. After IBM, he completed several other IT and training engagements, including eight years with Greenway Health, a health care IT leader based in Carrollton.

A graduate of the Executive MBA Program at Georgia State University, Jones earned his Master of Business Administration degree in 1992. He subsequently taught for nine years as part-time instructor of management in GSU’s Robinson College of Business. A Vietnam War veteran as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, Jones also has a passion for serving veterans. 

“It continues to be an honor and privilege for me to serve our members, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve another term on the Board of Directors! I remain energized by the challenge of providing our members with reliable electric service at a reasonable cost—and not just reliable power, but also resilient and sustainable. As the factors affecting the grid, our power supply and our business environment keep changing, my experience, knowledge and commitment help me to better serve our members. Working with my fellow directors and management, I look forward to another term of continued service,” he says. 

Charisse Braxton currently serves as senior director of clinical operations at Kaiser Permanente, a nationally renowned health care organization. She also serves on the alumni advisory board for Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University (GSU).

Braxton has over 30 years of experience in health care, from her role as a registered nurse to a leader in health care administration. She graduated from SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, New York, with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. She earned her Master of Science at GSU, becoming nationally certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner, and completed the MBA/MHA program at GSU’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. She holds a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma for process improvement. Braxton also served as chairwoman of the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce in 2021 and is the immediate past chair on the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce executive board.

A Cobb County resident for 15 years, Braxton says, “I am excited for this new opportunity to serve my community. My goal is to support GreyStone Power as the premier utility organization in this region, offering affordable, high-quality service to its members.”