Executive Director
Our Executive Director Barry "Butch" Emerson was raised in Bartow County and graduated from Cass High School. He and his wife, Starr Emerson, a retired special education educator, chose to raise their family here in the community they love so much. They are members of Euharlee Baptist Church.
Butch has 30+ years of business financial experience, most recently as the Bank President for United Community Bank's Cartersville market. After accepting God's calling to further serve his community, Butch retired from the United Community Bank to share his talent and vision for growth with Georgia Diversified Industries.
Butch is currently a board member on the Bartow County Board of Education and has also served as a Director on the Cartersville-Bartow Chamber of commerce. He is also member of the Bartow County Rotary Club. He was recently appointed to the Region 1 Advisory Council for the State Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
Butch's passion for his community, love for his family, and compassion for adults with special needs make him uniquely qualified to serve in this position.
Operations Manager
Tabitha Baynard, was born in Acworth, GA. She relocated to Ohio during her pre-teen years, where she graduated from Waverly High School. Tabitha went on to study accounting and business at Shawnee State University. She left her studies early to assist her father with his construction business. She has two children Carley and Chase, and a granddaughter RoseaLee.
She began working with the Georgia Diversified Industries, formerly known as Good Shepherd, in 2014. When Tabitha came to work she immediately knew she had found her home. Along with the responsibilities of a normal operations manager, Tabitha's additional duties include teaching the clients skills to perform a task from start to finish and showing them they can function as a team to produce a quality product. Her praise and encouragement creates an environment of purpose for our clients. She believes in them, so they believe in themselves
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and provide an amazing service for our community. Your generous donation will help further our mission.
