SAVANNAH — The Savannah Technical College local Board of Directors welcomed four new members at its August meeting. Joining are Michael W. Biering, deputy garrison commander of Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield, Cathy Plummer Hill, vice president of the Coastal Region for Georgia Power, Leland Sanders, Temcor vice president of manufacturing and Michael Polak, executive director for external affairs at Memorial Health University Center.
STC President Kathy S. Love welcomed the new members warmly and praised their willingness to serve.
“Our technical colleges need strong volunteer leaders who bring with them perspective, insight and experience,” she said. “I’m confident that the new members will help Savannah Technical College continue its strong record of community service.”
Sanders oversees operations at Temcor’s Effingham location, managing a $7 million facility and controlling an inventory of $8.5 million. Temcor designs, manufactures and erects architectural and environmental prefabricated structures and enclosures. Sanders has been with the company since 1997 when he left the U.S. Navy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and is nearing completion of a MBA degree from UOP. Sanders is a graduate of Leadership Effingham County and is a certified quality auditor. His efforts led Temcor to be named the 2007 recipient of the Georgia Manufacturer of the Year Award in the small business category and that same year received the Georgia European Union Summit Platinum Features Export Product of the Year Award. He is president-elect of the Rotary Club of Effingham County and was named the 2005 Effingham County Volunteer of the Year.
Judge Steven Scheer administered the oath of office.
Savannah Technical College serves Bryan, Chatham, Effingham and Liberty counties of coastal Georgia. Other board members include Don Tomberlin, chair; Thurman Tillman, vice-chair; Jimmy Burnsed, Lamar Crosby, Dick Knowlton, Donald Lovette, Tom Ratcliffe and Rosalyn Truitt.
Biering has served in the U.S. Army for 26 years, assuming his current position in June 2008. His distinguished career includes three overseas tours in Iraq, Kuwait and Bosnia as well as leadership commands in the Pentagon, Germany, Panama and Brazil. His military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and many others.
Biering, a native of Charleston, S.C., graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1978 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He later earned a Master of Science from Georgia Institute of Technology and is a registered Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and certified facility manager. He and his wife Celia have three children, including one Army captain and a current West Point cadet.
Hill oversees business operations in Savannah, Statesboro, Brunswick and surrounding southeast Georgia communities. She provides overall leadership for engineering, construction, operations, sales, customer service, economic development and community development. She previously served as assistant to the president and CEO of Georgia Power and was manager of Georgia Power’s metro south region.
Hill received a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering Degree from Georgia Tech in March 1984 and an M.B.A from Georgia State University in May 2000. She completed the Harvard Business School Executive Management Program in 2006. A native of Dublin, Hill has a distinguished record of community service and currently serves on the Boards of Savannah Economic Development Authority, Savannah-Chatham County Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Tech-Savannah, Armstrong Atlantic State University Foundation, United Way of the Coastal Empire, and Step-Up Savannah. She and her husband Mitchell have two children.
Polak has a bachelor degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech and a masters degree in marketing from Georgia State University. From 1993-2002, he served in the state Senate and House of Representatives. Additionally, he has more than 20 years of domestic and international marketing and business development experience.
Polak is the current chair of the Creative Coast Alliance Advisory Board and serves on the Boards of Georgia Tech Savannah, Step Up Savannah, Skidaway Marine Institute and Georgians for a Lifetime. In 2008, he was also a vice chair of the Savannah Chamber’s membership campaign. e is a former member of the Emory Board of Visitors, Georgia Tech School of Public Policy, Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Georgia Tech Economic Development Institute. He and his wife, Holly, have two children and reside on Tybee Island.
