Reinhardt University’s President’s Advisory Council is now the President’s Advisory and Ambassador Council (PAAC). According to Mark A. Roberts, Ph.D., president of Reinhardt University, the name change highlights the representative aspect of the membership as well as the advisory role.
The purpose of the President’s Advisory & Ambassador Council (PAAC) is to assemble Reinhardt University supporters, friends, donors, alumni, community leaders, organization/business leaders, and current Reinhardt parents so that they may learn about the good work of the university and in turn serve the mission of Reinhardt University as advocates, ambassadors, promoters, supporters, and advisors- through their time, talent, and treasure.
The new iteration of this organization aims to maintain 30 members who are actively engaged for the duration of their three-year membership. Members are asked to serve as an ambassador of the University among their professional, community, and family networks; to serve as an advisor to University leadership regarding potential knowledge-needs in the community that might be filled through degree programming; and to contribute time, talent, and treasure to support the mission of the University and to ensure its longevity.
As a thank you for their active membership, members of the PAAC receive two complimentary tickets to a performance at the Falany Performing Arts Center, an athletic event, and the Funk Heritage Center each year they are a PAAC member. Membership also offers individuals the opportunity to expand their personal and professional networks and have a voice in the trajectory of the university.
“The hope is that by limiting and diversifying membership, the PAAC will be deeply collegial, truly advisory, broadly ambassadorial, and regionally influential,” said Roberts.
The PAAC is led by three officers – a chair, a vice chair, and a treasurer/secretary. Stacey Williams ’12, ’14MBA has served as the chair of the organization for one year of his two-year term. Williams is the agency director for the Cherokee County Administrative Services Agency. In addition to serving on the PAAC, he is also a member of the Rotary Club of Canton, International and Georgia City/County Managers Associations, National Certified Public Managers Consortium, Malon D. Mimms Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors, and the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce.
The positions of vice chair and treasurer/secretary were recently filled. Zach Blend ’17MBA and Trey Ragsdale were nominated and voted in by current PAAC members. Blend fills the role of vice chair while Ragsdale fills the position of treasurer/secretary.
Blend is the chief executive officer of the Goshen Valley Foundation (GVF). The GVF operates the Goshen Valley Boys Ranch, which is one of the GVF’s four agencies improving the lives of foster children in North Georgia. The GVF also operates Goshen New Beginnings, Goshen Homes, and Goshen Therapeutic Services. Blend was recognized in 2014 as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40, received congregational recognition as an Angels in Adoption recipient in 2018, and was elected to the board of directors of Together Georgia and the Cherokee County Educational Foundation in 2022.
Ragsdale is the public affairs officer at Kaiser Permanente. He is responsible for securing government and community support for Kaiser Permanente’s healthcare initiatives throughout Georgia. Ragsdale has served on the boards of 40 organizations in and around metro Atlanta. In addition to Reinhardt University, Ragsdale currently serves on the boards of the Atlanta Care Center, Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, Regional Business Coalition, Southeastern Employment and Training Association (SETA), and more.
For more information on Reinhardt University’s President’s Advisory and Ambassador Council, visit https://www.reinhardt.edu/give/presidents-advisory-council/.
