Brian Tam, Michelle Prater, Mary Helen McGruder & James McCoy
Michelle Prater, President & CEO | North Georgia Community Foundation
Michelle attended the University of North Georgia and earned a bachelor’s degree in both marketing and management. She continued her education at Brenau University earning her MBA in Leadership Development. Michelle started her career in banking. As a vice president at Regions then BB&T, she led a highly successful team earning many sales and leadership awards. After a mission trip to Uganda in 2005, she decided to leave corporate America and move into the nonprofit sector so that she could make a greater impact on those in need and serve the North Georgia Community Foundation.
Brian Tam, Owner | Tam’s Backstage & Tam’s Tupelo Restaurant
Tam’s Backstage Restaurant is in its 18th year as one of Forsyth County’s most successful food & spirits gathering spots. Full of charm and character, Tam’s Backstage Restaurant is located in the historical Cumming Public School building in the heart of downtown Cumming, Georgia. The building was constructed in 1923 to serve as Forsyth County’s only school. Each week, teachers “commuted” to Cumming by horseback. They stayed across the street at the Brannon-Heard House (then a boarding house) and then travel back to their homes for the weekends.
Mary Helen McGruder, Chair | Forsyth County Community Foundation Advisory Board
Mary Helen works closely with a group of local leaders in Forsyth County, the Forsyth County Community Foundation (FCCF). Established in 2015 to better serve the specific needs of Forsyth County, the foundation allows donors to focus their charitable giving in their own community. The Forsyth County Community Foundation is an affiliate of NGCF but has a local advisory board of community leaders representing a cross-section of public interests in Forsyth County.
James McCoy, President and CEO | Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Over the last 16 years he has led several successful campaigns to gain voter approval for over $2 billion dollars for education, transportation, and public safety infrastructure improvements. During his tenure at the Chamber, the organization has worked with over 400 economic development clients and commercial real estate developments that have announced the creation of over 22,000 new jobs and over $2 billion dollars of new capital investment in Forsyth County.
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