Board of Directors

Dr. Rich Lloyd has spent the past 25 years loving and living in the culture of Appalachia found in Cocke County. After raising his 3 children and following the death of his wife in 2014, he found great joy in helping non-profits serve the people of Cocke County. He is past President of Kiwanis Club of Newport and past member of the Board of Trustees at Carson Newman University; the current chairs of the Board at the Newport Medical Center, Cocke County Education Foundation, and the Cocke County LTRG; and also serves on the Board at Empower Cocke County and Safespace. His first love, though, is serving as pastor of First Baptist Church Newport.

George Barton has been a Member-at-Large of the Board since its creation. As the Chief Executive Officer of Rural Medical Services, Inc., George has over 30 years of executive experience in healthcare and public health roles. He is closely tied to the residents and leadership of Cocke County. George has a passion for effectively marshalling resources to our flood survivors and for maximizing the community’s health and well-being.

John Reis serves as the Board’s Attorney. His law practice focuses on disaster litigation, including floods, fires, explosions, collapses, collisions, and other catastrophes throughout the South. John has experience as a Disaster Legal Services chair and currently serves as finance chair for the Church of the Good Shepherd in Newport, Tennessee.

Mike Hensley is currently serving as the Director of Missions (DoM) for the East Tennessee Baptist Association. Mike has served in that position for 3 ½ years. Prior to becoming DoM, he was the Senior Pastor at Swannsylvania Baptist Church for 36 years.

Before being called to the ministry, Mike worked for the Farm Credit system here in Newport for 11 ½ years.

Deborah Bahr is currently the Director of CWEET (Clean Water Expected in East Tennessee). Deborah has decades of experience and success creating healthy natural, diverse social and thriving economic environments by employing the tactics of constructive communication, support, education, organization, and creative art outlets.

Tom Stephens has over 40 years of work and leadership in the construction industry, as a carpenter, a millwright, heavy equipment operator, and business owner. Now retired to Del Rio, Tom owns Outback Land Services, a land clearing and excavation company.

Since 2019, when Outback Land Services was established, Tom has provided his knowledge and commitment to hard work to customers throughout Cocke County. Recently approved as a FEMA disaster recovery business, Outback was also granted HUB Zone status through the SBA. Tom has seen first-hand the devastation brought on by Hurricane Helene and understands that this recovery will take time, organization and patience.

Tom joins the Cocke County Long Term Recovery Group as the Construction Committee Chairperson.

With more than 40 years of experience in the technology sector, Steve Tucker has held leadership roles in multiple companies, driving innovation in product development and software solutions. His early career at Texas Instruments and American Airlines laid the foundation for his tenure at Forward Air, where he served as Chief Technology Officer for over two decades. Steve is dedicated to enhancing business processes that contribute to community resilience, recovery, and sustainable growth.