William “Bill” Straub
Chairman

Bill Straub has been serving financial service clients since 1972.   He is currently the Executive Vice President of Legacy Executive Benefits LLC, a national consulting firm specializing in providing corporate Total Retirement Solutions.  Legacy Executive Benefits LLC also designs and implements executive benefit plans focusing on attracting, rewarding and retaining high impact executives.  Straub was the co-founder of ERI Advisors LLC, a regional firm, along with J. David Harper Jr.  He is a graduate of the University of Dayton, a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).  In addition, he is a member of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Finance Advisors and the Society of Financial Service Professionals.  In addition to serving as chairman of MARR, Inc., Straub has served as chairman of the 65 Roses Club for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Rick Andre
Vice Chair/Secretary

Rick Andre is a partner with the law firm of Andre & Blaustein, LLP, where he guides business owners in the establishment, acquisition, management, and sale of businesses in a variety of industries and professions, and helps clients with estate planning and probate matters. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Rick graduated from Yale University in 1975, and began practicing law in Atlanta in 1980 after graduating from Emory University School of Law.
Rick is a member of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, the Atlanta Bar Association, and the State Bar of Georgia and its Fiduciary Law Section. Rick is also a member of Vistage International, an international organization of executives, and the Yale Club of Georgia. Rick also serves on the Board of Directors of Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc.

Lew Belote
Finance Committee
Chair

Lew Belote is the CFO of Angelica Corporation, the largest provider of linen services to the healthcare industry. From 2002 to 2009, he was the CFO of Move, Inc., and helped engineer a successful turnaround of the troubled public company. He was a SVP of Finance of WebMD until 2001, has served as CFO of three private companies and worked for 12 years at Ernst & Young.  He also serves as Treasurer of Druid Hill Golf Club and is a past president of the club.  He graduated from the University of Tennessee with honors in Accounting.  Lew and his wife, Karen, have four children; Michael, Mindy, Kaitlin and Lauren.

Robert Sharpenberg

Bob Sharpenberg, a CPA and a Vietnam-era verteran, was an international tax partner with Ernst & Young, primarily responsible for international assignees and their employers.  He started his career in Pittsburgh, PA, as an auditor and worked in the Frankfurt, Germany, New York International Tax and Atlanta offices.  His clients included The Coca-Cola Company, AT & T, Equifax, Eli Lilly, and Time Magazines.  He retired in 2002 after 28 years of service, but still maintains a boutique international tax practice for select clients.

Thomas Fariss, MD, MPH

Tom Fariss is the Corporate Medical Director at Kimberly-Clark Corporation.  Fariss received his medical degree from the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine.  He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Preventive Medicine/ Occupational Medicine, and is a member of several professional societies.

Thomas Fowler

Tom Fowler was founder and co-owner of Artcraft, Inc.; an art, engineering and craft distributing and manufacturing company.  He also owned a construction company for high-end homes.  He and his partner sold both companies in 1993.  Tom has stayed active as an investor and avid golfer.  He volunteers for several community boards.

Russell Huber

Mrs. Huber, a former English and Language Arts teacher, joined MARR in the 1980’s and served as the Volunteer Coordinator and later Chairman of Corporate Fundraising.  She was also a member of the MARR Board.  Later she served as Chairman of the Cathedral of St. Philip Thrift House, board member of The Iron City Fishing Club of Pittsburgh, PA and Ontario, Canada and is a founding member of the Girls’ Preparatory School National Alumnae Council in Chattanooga, TN.

Jule Lassiter

Jule Lassiter earned his JD from Atlanta Law School.  He has been a member of the State Bar Georgia, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Workers Compensation Claimants Lawyers section of the Georgia Trail Lawyers Association.  Jule serves on several boards as well as the Trustee’s Ministry at Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church.

Dr. Tim Melton

Dr. Melton has been involved with MARR since its inception in 1975, and has served on the Board of Directors for 28 years.  He is a past president and lifetime member of the board.  Dr. Melton is a licensed professional counselor and has been in private practice for over 30 years.  He currently conducts a family therapy group at MARR and also supervises MARR’s clinical staff for licensure in Professional Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy.

Tom Sharp

Tom Sharp began his homebuilding career in Orlando, Florida with the General Homes Corporation.  He moved to Atlanta and formed Sharp Residential nearly 20 years ago.  Sharp Residential has built over 5,000 homes and developed over 40 neighborhoods in the Atlanta metro area.  Tom is also on the board of the Joseph Monastra Foundation that provides funding for pancreatic cancer research at John Hopkins.

Terry Stinson

Terry Stinson is Development Director and President, The Americas and a board member of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group with responsibility for worldwide development, technical services, engineering, legal affairs and strategic planning.  Terry previously served as EVP for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company for ten years.  He has a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Tennesee and practiced securities and real estate law in New York and Georgia.

Ken Thompson

Robert Vinson

Rob is the founder and Managing Partner of Legacy Group Consulting. A seasoned professional services and consulting executive, Rob has over 20 years experience in financial management with over 5 years as CFO. Prior to starting Legacy Group Consulting, he served as the founder and Managing Director of Risk Services & Business Development at two national consulting firms. Rob is a leader in the Atlanta Metro area serving on numerous boards, and was recently named one of Atlanta’s top ten African American business leaders by Who’s Who.

Whit Walter

Whit Walter worked for over 13 years in commercial and mortgage banking, involving real estate and construction lending.  He was the majority owner and CEO of a licensed general contracting company and was also a business consultant working with clients wanting commercial loans.  After coming to MARR, he worked in retail for six years and served as Chairman of the MARR Alumni Association for two years.

Daniel Phelan

Dan Phelan currently serves as Chairman of Prommis Solutions, LLC, after previously serving as their Chief Executive Officer from 2006 – 2008. He possesses particular knowledge and experience in real estate transaction processing; leadership of complex organizations and people management. He was an attorney and Managing Partner at McCalla Raymer from 1988 to 2006 and provided senior oversight to McCalla Raymer's processing operations since 1988. Prior to joining MR Law, Mr. Phelan spent ten years as an attorney and Partner at Kurzman and Liblang, P.C. in Michigan from 1980 to 1987. Dan has been a member of MARR’s Board of Directors for many years; serving as Chairman from 2008 to 2010.

Barry Wilbur

Barry Wilbur is the Director of Flying Operations at Delta Airlines where he is responsible for managing more than 11,500 Delta pilots. A pilot himself, he is currently a First Officer on the 767 aircraft and generally flies to international destinations. Prior to coming to Delta in 2001, Barry spent more than 24 years on active duty in the United States Navy where he flew numerous different aircraft types while serving. He culminated his naval career as Commander, Fleet Logistics Support Wing, the largest air wing in the US Navy. A 1977 graduate of the US Naval Academy, he also has an MBA from Corpus Christi State University and an MS from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University. He and his wife Carrie live in Kennesaw and have two grown children, Dayna and Bradley.

David Seem

Dave Seem is the EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Miller Zell; responsible for the financial reporting, cash management, internal controls, tax compliance, and human resource functions. Seem was owner/operator of two different entrepreneurial firms; a medical products company and a software company specializing in temporary staffing. Prior to 1994 Dave held a variety of positions at several Fortune 500 Companies. Dave was instrumental in 2010 in the formation of the Fulton Industrial CID (FICID) which focuses on improving and rehabilitating the Fulton Industrial Corridor in South Atlanta. He is also active in the South Fulton Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Area Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta chapter of the ACG, and the Atlanta Venture Forum. Dave is a board member of LifeSpan Healthcare and 62 Sports.

Doug Liptak

Doug Liptak is partner and co-founder of SignatureFD, LLC where he seeks innovative ways to offer comprehensive financial design services to successful individuals and entrepreneurs. Prior to SignatureFD, Liptak was a senior tax and financial planning strategist at Frazier Deeter. Doug is a Certified Financial Planner and a Certified Public Accountant. He graduated from Furman University and received a Master’s from Georgia State University. Doug played an instrumental role while serving on the initial Board of Directors for Heart for Africa, a Christian-based, nonprofit providing HOPE to Africa. Doug and his wife, Kim, live in Alpharetta with their five children, and attend North Point Community Church.