ATLANTA — Former state legislator Jay Shaw of Lakeland has been elected chairman of the State Transportation Board. Don Grantham of Augusta was elected vice chairman, and Emily Dunn of Blue Ridge was elected to the newly formed position of secretary.

The State Transportation Board — the policy-making and governing authority of the Georgia Department of Transportation — is comprised of 14 members each representing one of Georgia’s congressional districts. All were elected unanimously by their colleagues to one-year terms.

The 1st District representative is Ann Purcell of Rincon.

Shaw, who served 18 years in the state House and 10 years prior to that as Lakeland’s mayor, is serving his first five-year term on the board, as are Grantham and Dunn.

Shaw has served as the board’s vice chair for the past term, and praised outgoing chair Johnny Floyd of Cordele.

“I’ve got some great leadership to follow,” he said. “Johnny did a great job this past year, and I want to keep that momentum going. I am honored that my fellow Board members have the confidence in me to continue this leadership. We have worked hard over the past year, and are dedicated to meeting the needs of Georgians by working with Governor Deal, the legislature and DOT staff to leverage all of our resources. This board is 14 strong.”

Added Grantham, whose district includes portions of Effingham County: “This is a great team on our board and I look forward to working closely with Jay and Emily. We’re going to work in behalf of transportation improvements throughout Georgia.  We have one of the best transportation systems in the country, but there are still a lot of needs.  We are going to focus on the future and keeping Georgia competitive.”

Floyd called for the creation of a secretary position to ensure that adequate leadership was always in place on the Board. Dunn, who is entering the new role, expressed gratitude to her colleagues for the opportunity.

Shaw is a business owner in Lakeland and serves on the boards of Unity United Methodist Church and the Louis Smith Memorial Hospital.

Grantham is also a business owner in Augusta; serves on the Boy Scouts of America Advisory Board of Augusta; and is a former chair of the Georgia Ports Authority.

Dunn is also a business owner in Blue Ridge, and serves on the Fannin County Board of Education, the Fannin Regional Hospital Board of Trustees and North Georgia Technical College Board.

Shaw announced the formation of a new board committee, the communications committee. Additionally, Shaw made a number of appointments.

Purcell has been named chairman of the administrative committee and also will serve on the legislative and communications committees.