Deal Swears in New Regent

New governor continues state of emergency, ethics rules

In his first official actions as the governor of Georgia, Nathan Deal swore in Philip Wilheit Sr. of Gainesville to fill the unexpired term of Regent Felton Jenkins, and he continued Georgia's state of emergency declaration signed this weekend by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Wilheit, 66, is the president of Wilheit Packaging and Marketing Images. He served for more than 40 years on the board of the Greater Hall County Chamber of Commerce with one year as chairman and he served more than 20 years on the Georgia Chamber of Commerce with one year as chairman. Gov. Perdue appointed him to the Economic Development Commission and to the water task force. Wilheit served as treasurer for Deal's campaigns for 28 years and chaired the Deal for Governor campaign. Wilheit participated in Leadership Georgia, and he and his wife Mary Hart are members of Grace Episcopal Church. They have two adult children and three grandchildren.

The executive order for the state of emergency allows for state resources to be available for response and recovery activities, and calls for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) / Office of Homeland Security to activate the state's Emergency Operations Plan.

In other action, Deal announced that attorneys Randy Evans and Pete Robinson will chair his Judicial Nominating Commission. Evans, of Atlanta, is a partner at McKenna Long and Aldridge in Atlanta. He's the counsel to House Speaker John Boehner and former Speaker Newt Gingrich, among many others. Robinson, of Columbus, is a partner at Troutman Sanders and he's a former majority leader in the state Senate.

Deal also signed an executive order to continue the current ethics guidelines, including a gift ban, for his staff and for executive agency heads.
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