Tuesday, April 15, 2025–7:40 p.m.
-News Release-
Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) announces the appointments of Eddie Elsberry, Melissa Free, Kristine Godfrey, and Matt Sawhill to its Board of Directors.
Elsberry, Free, Godfrey, and Sawhill were sworn in at the March Board of Directors meeting.
Since 2000, Elsberry has worked at Berry College, where he is currently director of Environmental Compliance, Sustainability, Agricultural and River Farm Operations, and Farm Enterprises.
Prior to his role at Berry College, Elsberry had spent 16 years in the chemical and aerospace industries. He is a retired certified firefighter, hazmat technician, NASCAR firefighter and certified fire protection specialist.
A Chattooga County resident, Elsberry is a graduate of the Georgia Academy of Economic Development, Leadership Rome, and Leadership Chattooga.
Elsberry served on the Chattooga County Board of Education for 18 years. His community activities include serving as a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Coosa Valley; regional board and local member for Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Georgia; past president of the Chattooga County Chamber of Commerce; member and past chair of the Paradise Garden Foundation Board of Directors; board member on the Chattooga County Health Department; and member of the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
Elsberry studied Industrial Maintenance with an Electrical Specialization at GNTC and Agribusiness at Andrew College. As a GNTC student, he was a finalist for the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL).
As region executive for Georgia Power, Free leads community engagement and represents the company in external matters, fostering relationships with local stakeholders, government officials and business leaders in Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Heard, Murray, Polk, Walker and Whitfield Counties. She is also responsible for driving operational excellence, improving customer satisfaction and managing the company’s financial investments and performance in the northwest Georgia region as Georgia Power continues to focus on enhancing the power grid and preparing to serve future electrical demand.
Free, a Calhoun resident, previously served as a leader on Georgia Power’s New Ventures team as director of Business Development and Innovation. She managed a venture investment portfolio that delivered strategic solutions for Southern Company, Georgia Power’s parent company; through this role, she served as an external ambassador for Southern Company.
Free began her Georgia Power career in 2014 in the Human Resources Organization, supporting the northwest region. In 2018, she was selected as chief of staff to the senior vice president of Human Resources at Georgia Power and Southern Company. She later established and led the Result Delivery Organization at Georgia Power.
Prior to joining Georgia Power, Free worked for five years with International Paper in Rome.
Free earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Business Administration from Berry College. She has been involved with Citizens of Georgia Power, Habitat for Humanity, and the American Heart Association.
Godfrey’s career has been in Human Resources in the areas of employee relations, turnover reduction, employee engagement, and complex problem solving.
Since 2021, Godfrey has served as vice president of Human Resources for Vitruvian Health. From 2000-2021, she served as director of Human Resources for Tennova Healthcare in Cleveland, Tenn. (formerly SkyRidge Medical Center, Cleveland Community and Bradley Memorial Hospitals).
From 1996-98, Godfrey served as Human Resources officer at the 52nd Services Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany.
Godfrey currently serves on the Talent and Workforce Advisory Group for the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce and has been an active participant in Grateful Dalton for the past two years. Previously, she served on the Business Advisory and Career and Technical Education Councils for Bradley High School and Cleveland High School in Tennessee.
She has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, United Way, and various other charitable organizations in Bradley County, Tenn.
Godfrey earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, with a minor in Human Resources, from Tennessee Wesleyan University and an associate degree in Business Administration from Cleveland State Community College.
Sawhill is the principal of Sawhill Strategic Partners, an external affairs consulting business. He previously led Government Relations and Economic Development for Atlanta Gas Light. Most recently, he led Government and Community Relations for Georgia, North Carolina and part of Tennessee for the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Sawhill served on the Georgia Board of Natural Resources, chairing the Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Committee; the Executive Committee of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Council, chairing the Federal Affairs Committee; the Board of Directors for the Georgia Professional Lobbyists Association; and as an advisor to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
He serves on the Board of Directors for the University of Georgia’s (UGA) National Alumni Association and was also named one of UGA’s “40 Under 40.”
He also worked for Georgia U.S. Senators Zell Miller and Saxby Chambliss. He was the political director for Chambliss.
Sawhill is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Southeast Georgia, and Leadership Darlington. He has served as chair or a board member on numerous local and regional non-profits, including the United Way of Southeast Georgia and the Development Authority of Bulloch County. He is also currently a member of the Rome Rotary Club.
A native of Rome, Sawhill earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree from Georgia Southern University.
Listed are members of GNTC’s Board of Directors showing the board member’s name, county, place of employment, and title:
• L. Gale Buckner, Murray, retired Murray County Chief Magistrate Judge
• Ben Canedo, Walker, Roper Corp., Human Resources senior business partner
• Eddie Elsberry, Chattooga, Berry College, director of Agriculture Operations, Environmental Compliance and Sustainability
• Torrance Ford, Catoosa, Shaw Industries Group Inc., Talent Management vice president
• Melissa Free, Gordon, Georgia Power Company, region executive
• Kristine Godfrey, Whitfield, Hamilton Health Care System, vice president of Human Resources
• Albert “Al” Hodge, Floyd, Hodge Consulting, founder and chief executive officer
• Josh Ingle, Dade, Dade County School District, superintendent
• Jessica “Missy” Puckett, Polk, Atrium Health Floyd, nursing director
• Matt Sawhill, Floyd, Sawhill Strategic Partners, principal/owner
• Kenna Stock, Floyd, Harbin Clinic, chief executive officer
• Megan Talley, Whitfield, Dalton Utilities, Human Resources, Safety/Training and Administration director
• Dr. Michele Taylor, Gordon, Calhoun City Schools, superintendent
