Get to know the dedicated team that works behind the scenes every day to plan more productions and programs, and ensure The Plaza Arts Center will continue to grow.
Meet the incredible people who support and advocate for the The Plaza Arts Center. Their backgrounds and careers are varied, but they volunteer their time and share their talents as a cooperative working board.
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Susan spent the majority of her career as an administrator in the Putnam County Charter School System, serving as assistant principal of the Elementary School, Director of Special Education, and then principal of the Elementary School, the Primary School, and the Middle School before retiring. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Elementary Education and of Mercer University with a masters in Middle Grades Education. She went on to obtain a specialist and doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Georgia.
Susan and her husband, Tom, have one child, Addie Grace, who is currently in high school at Putnam County High School. They enjoy living in Putnam County with all it has to offer plus its close proximity to Atlanta.
Vickie is the program, theater production and event contact at The Plaza. Her career and personal interests have always circled the non-profit, fine and performing arts world.
She would say that her customer service, creative, technical and event planning talents were honed while working for top rated service-centric companies like Blackbaud and The Ritz Carlton.
Vickie is a native of Eatonton, GA, attended Putnam County Schools and holds a BS in Exercise Science/Kinesiology and Minor in Communications from Georgia College and State University. Her roots are local but she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends. Her love for the Arts continues to grow as she is influenced by the richness and depth of artistic talent that lives here in the Lake Country.
Taylor’s interest in the arts started at an early age. She grew up in Oconee County where she learned to love arts through stage management, show choir and dance. Taylor’s career started in newspapers as a Content & Design Editor. This is where she got her passion for media and communication. She loves to express her creative side in her designs and believes in The Plaza’s mission to bring the arts and performances to the community. Taylor got married in 2022 to the love of her life, Colton. In her spare time, Taylor loves to spend time with her fur baby, Clyde, listen to live music, travel and thrift. She brings with her to The Plaza a personality willing to work and ready to help let the place shine.
Z is a seasoned leader in the deployment and application of methods to effectively execute a company’s strategic objectives and has much experience in the application of optimization methods to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations in meeting/exceeding their business objectives and client expectations. He has global experience in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas within financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, and aerospace industry.
Roddie Anne graduated from Putnam County High School in 1970 and has since spent a lot of her time pouring back into her community. From 1980 until 2021, she served as the Eatonton-Putnam County Chamber President. Roddie Anne is a member of Eatonton First Baptist Church, has served in the Eatonton Service League, 100 Women Who Care and lots of other charitible organizations. She has an extensive resume —all helping her hometown of Eatonton grow and thrive. Roddie Anne Blackwell is married to Sammy Blackwell. Roddie Anne has three children and six wonderful grandchildren.
Murray is a native of Florida and moved to Eatonton in 2017 after 20 years in Houston. He is a graduate of Georgia Tech and the Harvard Business School. His 30-year career with Amoco Corporation and British Petroleum in international finance, high technology businesses and global property management entailed assignments in Chicago, Calgary, London, Houston and the remote island of Papua New Guinea where he was CFO of one of the worlds largest copper mines. Since 2012, he has served as a Senior Advisor with the Taffrail Group in Atlanta.
He and his wife, Mary, have three grown daughters and 3 grandchildren. He is interested in historic preservation initiatives and leadership in non-profit organizations and community activities.
Born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, Dudley first completed a tour in the United States Marine Corps before attending the prestigious Culinary Arts Institute in Baton Rouge, LA. After graduating he pursued a successful career as a Chef for 25 years in different hotels and restaurants across the southeast. Upon retiring from his foodservice career, Dudley starting a home building and maintenance business. Constructing 42 homes in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. Dudley and his wife of 30 years live in the historic district of Eatonton in a home built in 1811. They enjoy cooking, shooting, and swimming in the 1/2 Olympic pool in their backyard.
Bobbie J. Thompson was born and raised in Connecticut and moved to Milledgeville, Ga in 1974 when she married a Milledgeville native. Bobbie helped found the Animal Rescue Foundation, Inc. (ARF) in Milledgeville in 1983 and was the President of it for 30 years. During that time, she learned about non-profits from the ground up. She attended several training workshops across Georgia and the southeast on on many aspects of animal sheltering and board governance. Bobbie is a 1991 graduate of Leadership Baldwin and was a Baldwin County Community Torchbearer with the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Bobbie moved to Putnam County in 2013. She began volunteering with the Plaza in March 2016.
Bev grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and has had a home at Lake Oconee for almost 19 years. She is a graduate of Ferris State University and worked in the retail and real estate development industry. She is recently retired from the Director of Marketing position for Reynolds Lake Oconee.
Bev and her husband, Tom, have been long time supporters of the Plaza Arts Center. When not playing golf, they enjoy traveling and cooking while entertaining friends.
Carillon Orban was born in Medina, Ohio but by the time she was in the 2nd grade, she spent half the year in Bradenton, Florida and half the year in Ohio as her father hated snow.
Carillon retired from IBM after 25 years spent in programming, project management, software acquisition, strategic planning, market research, custom products and special bids.
Her favorite job was as the liaison to IBM Hursley England.
Carillon and her husband, Robert Ritchason, moved to Georgia in 2001 from Durham, N.C.
They built an octagonal home on Lake Sinclair.
She is a member and past president of the Town & Country Garden Club and has served on the Main Street Eatonton board.
She currently is on the Main Street design committee and on the Old School History Museum Board and is a docent for the Museum. She is active at All Angels Episcopal Church where she serves on the Vestry.
She has one daughter and 2 grandsons. Carillon enjoys traveling, gardening (planting flowers, not weeding), spending time with family, cooking and reading.
In 2018, after several years as part-time residents, Mark and his wife, Terry, relocated from Atlanta to make Eatonton their permanent home. Mark was the Executive Director of the Plaza Arts Center in 2019. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He also serves on the Eatonton-Putnam Tourism Arts Heritage Partnership Board and Lake Country Arts Alliance.
Mark has an extensive professional background in sales, marketing and customer service corporate roles at Ford Motor Company and AAA. He served in both national and regional leadership positions in Detroit, Boston and Atlanta. He also founded Go Strong Performance Group, LLC which provides business consulting services.
In addition to his professional business career, Mark was a member of the Board of Directors at Zoo
Atlanta for nearly 20 years. He resigned in 2017 as Vice-Chair having served on the Executive, Strategic Plan, Capital Campaign and Beastly Feast committees. He was chairperson for the Master Plan and Business Operations committees.
Mark graduated from the University of West Florida in Pensacola with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management. Mark enjoys sports, especially college football. He is an avid fitness enthusiast and holds a certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He and Terry enjoy boating on Lake Oconee, traveling and spending time with friends and family. Mark and Terry are members of Lake Oconee Church in Greensboro.
Laura Melton is an educator with a passion for guiding students to success. She has devoted over three decades to the Putnam County Charter School System. Mrs. Melton graduated from the University of Georgia, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in speech communications. She continued her academic journey, obtaining a master’s degree and a specialist degree in educational leadership from Georgia College and State University. Throughout her career in Putnam County, Laura has held various roles at both the school and district levels, including teacher, assistant principal, principal, and special education director. She is currently the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessments. She and her husband Scott have two daughters and love to travel and spend time on the lake.
Sara Tomson-Hooper holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Social Work. She has twenty-five years of experience in human service administration, combined with consulting and academia. Ms. Tomson-Hooper is currently employed with Habitat for Humanity International as Associate Director of Strategy Planning and Support. Prior to joining Habitat for Humanity in 2013, Ms. Tomson-Hooper spent thirteen years in non-profit management and twelve years in executive consulting.
Ms. Tomson-Hooper’s consulting firm assisted non-profit organizations with advancing funding and programmatic strategies; cultivating resources; enhancing professional development; assuring quality standards, and evaluating program outcomes.
Ms. Tomson-Hooper currently serves on the Board of Regents and the Advancement Committee for Wartburg College, a private liberal arts college in Iowa. She is also a member of and serves on the Program Committee for Blue Ridge Institute, which is a non-profit educational organization and the oldest continuing institute of its kind in the country, organized more than 88 years ago. In Eatonton, Ms. Tomson-Hooper is on the Board of Directors of the Eatonton Main Street Program, The Plaza Arts Center, and The Artisans Village.
