Hi, I am Cheri Austin. I am a widow and have one daughter and two grandkids, living in San Antonio, TX.  I've always wanted to live near the mountains and my dream came through after starting my search in August 2025.  God lead me to Dahlonega, GA and I love living here since November 2025. I've become involved at The Torch and met new friends and am hoping to become involved in the community as well.  I am retired from banking as a Credit Card manager in Covington, Louisiana. 
I am looking forward to learning more about Dahlonega and Lumpkin County through Leadership Lumpkin. I think this will be a fun way to meet more people from this lovely town of Dahlonega.  I hope to learn interesting things from my training, get involved and have opportunities to develop friendships along the way.

Leah Bruno is a former special education teacher, small business owner, wife, and mom of four who loves serving the Lumpkin County community. She currently serves as the Community Liaison for the Lumpkin County Education Foundation, where she works to connect local businesses, community members, and schools to create opportunities for students and support teachers.

Before moving to Lumpkin County, Leah served as a Navy Command Ombudsman during her husband’s 21-year Navy career, helping military families through deployments and other challenges.

Leah believes the best way to make a difference is by building relationships and helping where there’s a need. She is honored to be part of the Leadership Lumpkin Class of 2027 and looks forward to learning from other local leaders while finding new ways to serve the community she calls home. 

Originally from South Georgia, Rex relocated to Dahlonega in 2024, trading the Coastal Plain for the foothills of North Georgia wine country. A Valdosta State University graduate in Business Management, Rex's career path wound through non-profits and sales before nearly a decade in banking, focused on commercial lending, SBA loans, and mortgages.

In 2022, a family opportunity to enter the wine industry led Rex to help form Familia Vineyards, LLC, now a multi-location business spanning South and North Georgia. Rex serves as Director of Retail Operations for Familia Vineyards and as General Manager of Doghobble Wine Farm in Dahlonega, the company's flagship property. The Familia Vineyards family of brands has grown to include Doghobble Cellars in Blue Ridge and Horse Creek Winery in Sparks, with Doghobble at Dillard set to open August 2026.

Victoria graduated from the University of North Georgia in 2017 with a psychology degree. She has work in non-profit and victim advocacy since 2018 and joined South Enotah CAC as the executive director in June of 2026. She loves living in Dahlonega with her husband, two children, and their beloved dogs and cat.

Brent Kieran serves as the Assistant Director of Operations and Cadet Leader Development for the University of North Georgia Corps of Cadets. He coordinates training, logistics, facilities, and major events that support cadet development and the Corps’ mission.

Before joining UNG, Brent served 22 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a First Sergeant. His career included service as a Ranger Instructor and senior enlisted leader, where he trained and mentored Soldiers, led teams in demanding environments, and planned complex training and operational missions. His experience spans leader development, risk management, logistics, personnel management, and organizational planning.

Brent lives in Dahlonega with his family and remains committed to serving the university and local community.

My name is Adam McAfee and I am the Head Chef at Spirits Tavern. I began working in restaurants when I was 16 years old and have been cooking in Dahlonega since my college years where I started as a dishwasher. A few years ago my wife and I moved to South Carolina where I learned from some incredible Chefs but our hearts were always in Lumpkin County and we’ve been so happy to be home.

A lifelong Georgian, Emily McEntyre serves as the administrative manager for McEntyre Construction Group, the residential construction company she owns alongside her husband, Bradley.  After meeting in Dahlonega during college, Emily & Bradley have called the North GA mountains home for 29 years. Emily studied education at UGA and NGCSU then taught middle school for a few years before stepping away from the classroom to raise their four children. Today she works to facilitate a family business with strong connections to the community.

I am the Community Development Director for the Lumpkin County.  That means all subdivision, building permits, business licenses and a lot of the code enforcement issues go through our office. I have been in this job since August of 2025.  I have been in some sort of this profession for over 25 years.  I have a civil engineering degree from the University of Alabama.  I have had the privilege of being LTC (Ret.) John McGrath wife for the last 30 years and we have been blessed with our children Sean and Kate. 

I grew up in Fairburn, Georgia, and attended Berry College in Rome before building a career in IT Project and Program Management. Along the way, my husband, son, and I traded the traditional route for five years aboard our 40-foot catamaran, sailing from San Diego, CA to Thailand.

For the past 10 years, Dahlonega has been our home. Our son spent his middle and high school years here, making the community an important part of our family’s life. We’re also a retired Navy family and value Dahlonega’s strong military community. I currently work as an IT Program Manager with KeyBank out of Ohio and am a co-owner of Tipsy Toad, a log cabin my husband built himself that has become a popular place for visitors to experience a little of what makes Dahlonega special. After seeing a lot of the world, we’ve chosen to put down roots here and I’m looking forward to getting more involved in the community.

Hello team,
I am a lifelong resident of Lumpkin County. I have been fortunate enough to have worked my entire career inside of the county. My background is in manufacturing and distribution operations with over 26 years' experience. As the Operations Manager for Satellite Industries, I am excited to see how the County i grew up in works internally and how I can leverage my skills and experience to help my community.
 

I have lived in Lumpkin County for the past four years and, although I am originally from White County, I have always felt the connection to this wonderful community. 

I have been with Northeast Georgia Physicians Group for 13 years, along the way I have earned my LPN at North GA Technical College, my associate degree in business management from Lanier Technical College and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Arizona Global Campus. I currently serve as Practice Manager for Urgent Care Dahlonega and Urgent Care Cleveland.

My name is Ethan. I grew up in Dahlonega for the first 25 years of my life. I attended Lumpkin County schools and the University of North Georgia where I obtained my commission as an Officer in the Georgia Army National Guard. Though I do not reside in Dahlonega at this time it will always be my true home. I am grateful to say that the company that I work for as my civilian side job (Comfort Keepers) allows me the opportunity to help the people of the Dahlonega Community.

Legacy family land owner to Ga land Lottery.  Family has had a cabin off Long Branch since the early 1960s where i would vacation as a child. I raised my two now adult sons in Metro Atlanta we spend every weekend that we could up here taking care of our family property   About 2015 again the process of building our retirement home on a Ridgetop Looking over the Chestatee and Dahlonega    I am fierce preservationist that appreciates our RICH history and culture   I also recognize property rights, but have no intent in developing our Family property  
I’m a retard IT executive that managed global shared services