AL Duke
President
A graduate of Davidson College and the Harvard Graduate School of Business, Al has spent his entire working career in commercial banking and the private equity sector. He joined American National Bank (later SunTrust) in Chattanooga in the 1970s and remained until June of 2000. Al served in a variety of capacities, including President and Chief Operating Officer. He has previously served on nonprofit boards including Goodwill Industries, The Creative Discovery Museum, St. Nicholas School and the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera. For the past two decades he has managed a variety of private equity funds at Tenth Street Capital, which he co-founded. He is a member of the North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati. He and his wife Joye live in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.
John Eger
Chief Financial Officer
John was born and raised in High Point, North Carolina. He came to Chattanooga to play soccer at Covenant College, fell in love with the area and stayed after graduating with his Business Degree. He worked as an Accounting and Human Resources Manager with a local startup, found that he was looking for a greater challenge, and decided to pursue his Master of Accountancy. John is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Valuation Analyst, and an Advisor with HHM CPAs in Chattanooga. During his spare time, you will find him playing soccer (and walking the sidelines as an assistant soccer coach at Covenant College). He enjoys spending time outside, whether hiking or playing any sport that he can, as well as traveling.
JOHNATHON SCHLEICHER
SECRETARY
A Cum Laude graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, Johnathon currently serves as Captain in the Tennessee Army National Guard. He enlisted in 2009, and throughout his military career, he has served as Company Commander, created the Recruiting and Retention Strength Management Program for a Tennessee Guard Unit, has helped to develop, execute and maintain battalion-level logistics budgets, and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as Program Manager for the Vaccination Call Center for the State of Tennessee and the Tennessee Army National Guard.
Johnathon has worked as a Government Contractor in several capacities, from serving as the Deputy Program Lead for a Tobacco Cessation Education Campaign and as a J9 Military Family Readiness Specialist, connecting Service Members and their families with external resources within their communities. He has trained Suicide Intervention Officers for the Tennessee Army National Guard, Joint Agencies and First Responders, and he is a Master Trainer and hosts ASIST workshops to help those become certified in Suicide Intervention. He holds a Secret Security Clearance, has attained several military certifications, and in 2022, was awarded the Armed Forces Service Medal for serving both the community and the Tennessee Department of the Military. He resides in Christiana, in Middle Tennessee.
Linda Houghton
Originally from Pomfret, Connecticut, Linda attended Annhurst College. For over 20 years, she worked as a preschool director and teacher. She and her husband James raised a family of three children. She actively volunteers with many charitable organizations in Chattanooga, including the Northside Neighborhood House and Ronald McDonald House. She enjoys reading, crafts and attending her four grandchildren’s sporting events. She lives in Ooltewah, Tennessee.
Tavis Salazar
Tavis Salazar is a senior brand strategy executive with 25+ years leading creative direction across digital and print channels at both full-serve advertising agencies and in-house creative teams. He has a proven ability leading projects from conceptualization through final production, including product development, brand positioning, brand voice, identity development, brand standards, visual language, design thinking, user experience design, digital experience, content development, video and collateral materials. Tavis strongly seeks to build successful teams with the goal of cultivating client relationships and driving brand awareness to foster return on investment and positive business results for clients. He and his family reside in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
William B. Raines Jr.
William is the sole owner and CEO of The Raines Group, Inc. a commercial real estate management, leasing and brokerage company, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He retired as a Major General from the Army Reserves in April 2000 after 32 years of service. His last assignment was to the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Norfolk, Virginia as the Vice Director of Strategy, Requirements, and Integration (J8V). His prior assignment was as Deputy Commander, 125th U.S. Army Reserve Command in Nashville, Tennessee.
General Raines received his Second Lieutenant commission in 1968 at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, where he also received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering. During his 32-year career, he served in a variety of important positions in both Active Duty and in the Army Reserve. During the period June 1968 to June 1973, General Raines served in numerous Active Duty assignments as Battery Commander on the Demilitarized Zone in Okinawa (Hawk), Vietnam, and Fort Bliss, Texas. After leaving Active Duty, General Raines accepted assignments within the 3397th U.S. Army Reserve Garrison in Chattanooga, TN and the 125th ARCOM Headquarters in Nashville, TN. He returned to active duty during Operations Desert Shield/Storm where he served as the Commander of the 3397th USAR Garrison Deployment Command from Chattanooga (the unit received the Army Superior Unit Award) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky during the period August 1990 to September 1991. He is a graduate of the Airborne School, Air Defense Artillery School, Command and General Staff College and the Army War College.
Awards presented to General Raines include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Oak, the Bronze Star Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with Service Star, and the Parachutist Badge.
In 2008, General Raines served as the Chairman of the Chattanooga Area Veteran’s Council and then served as Chairman of the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center during its formation, design, construction, funding, and Grand Opening in February 2020. He is currently its Chairman Emeritus. General Raines resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee with his wife Jerrie.
Ben Boston
A native Texan and Tennessee transplant, Ben currently resides near Dunlap, TN since retiring in 2018 from his career in automation engineering. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Electronics and Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science Degree in Business. He spent 41 years in the petrochemical and energy industries designing and implementing digital automation control and monitoring systems for process control and production management information systems. During his career, he designed and managed plant automation systems in countries around the globe.
He is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, serving in the U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1977 as an enlisted petty officer Sonar Warfare Systems Technician aboard the USS Brooke FFG-1, a guided missile frigate that served as a multi-mission vessel for assigned duties to the Pacific 3rd and 7th Fleets. He is a veteran of the Tonkin Gulf “Yacht Club” that participated in the blockade of North Vietnam in the early 70’s and is also a son of King Neptune’s court having been deemed worthy of the honor of “Shellback” seaworthiness. He holds the Vietnam Service Medal with Star, Vietnam Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Sea Service Deployment Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal, and multiple unit citations during his time on the Brooke.
Since moving to Tennessee from Texas in December of 2017, he has been involved with the Dunlap food bank. He also serves in The American Legion Post 190 as a member and Post Finance Officer. He has been a volunteer with Friends Of The Troops since early 2020, and has participated in the morale and material support of our veterans and service personnel. As a Veteran, he can attest to the importance of knowing that there is someone who cares and that they are not forgotten. The impact of the negative experience of his return from Vietnam in the mid-70’s and lack of support from a large part of the public at that time makes these present-day support efforts for our troops much more important.
Bryant Lewis
Bryant was born and raised in Madisonville, Tennessee, where he spent most of his childhood hunting and fishing in the East Tennessee mountains. During school, he served as a law clerk for the District Attorney General in Knox and Sevier counties. After graduating from the University of Tennessee and becoming an attorney, he practiced in the areas of civil litigation and corporate law for many years.
Bryant is the Assistant General Counsel at the National Rifle Association of America. He is a combat veteran of Iraq, having served in the United States Marine Corps reserves based in Johnson City, Tennessee, from 2000 - 2004, where he was in the infantry. Bryant is also a Life Member of both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Marine Corps League.
DARRELL WALSH
In 1984, Darrell R. Walsh enlisted in the Army, followed by an enrollment in 1986 in the ROTC program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, with a subsequent commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. He served 31 years until retiring in 2015 as a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC). During his military service, Darrell served as a Finance and Civil Affairs Officer in various units. He served three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and received several U.S. decorations and badges during his military career, including the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Afghanistan Medal with Campaign Star, and the Army Service Ribbon.
He earned his B.S. and M.Ed. in Sociology and Counseling Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In 1990, his career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga started in the Admissions and Financial Aid departments, where he served as a university recruiter and financial aid counselor. Later in 2005, he joined the faculty of the Social Cultural Justice Studies department as a Sociology Lecturer. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, he began serving as an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
He enjoys exercising and traveling with his family domestically as well as internationally.
Lynn Mullis-Timmons
Born and raised in Middle Georgia, Lynn graduated from Georgia Southwestern State University and South Georgia Technical College. She relocated to Tennessee in 1994 and began a career with HCA Healthcare in Nashville, TN, where she has been employed for the past twenty-eight years in the Information Technology Group. Her current role includes product management and process solution consultation and development.
At HCA Healthcare, Lynn serves as the Volunteer Project Coordinator and is active in their Corporate Nashville Military Advocates group. She enjoys supporting non-profits focused in the areas of special needs adults, Veterans, senior citizens and children. She currently serves as Board President for Possibility Place in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Lynn and her husband, Doug, are the parents of two adult children and are the grandparents to a beloved granddaughter. Lynn enjoys traveling, sending “snail mail” and watching the Georgia Bulldogs play football.