The Fayette County Development Authority has a new vibe now that the county commission has appointed five newcomers to the eight-member board.
The development authority is charged with luring business and industry to locate and expand in the county, and though much of its efforts have concentrated on land in Peachtree City’s industrial park, last year’s landing of Pinewood Atlanta Studios in north central Fayette County showed that the reach can extend far beyond the Peachtree City limits.
The following information about the new board members was gleaned from the applications they submitted for the positions:
• Darryl Hicks has lived in Fayette County for over nine years and is currently serving on the county’s elections board as well as the county’s recreation commission; he will resign the recreation seat so he may serve on the FCDA board. A former chief of staff for the Chairman of the Fulton County Commission, Hicks worked with the Fulton development authority to attract new business and create jobs there.
Hicks has also served at Atlanta Gas Light Resources in various director positions including the managing director of governmental relations. His children attend Fayette County schools and along with being involved in their school programs, Hicks has also helped as an assistant coach on his son’s baseball teams.
• Patrick J. Hinchey has lived in Fayette County for more than eight years. He owns Hinchey Financial Group, a financial planning firm serving high net worth individuals and their advisors.
Hinchey has also been involved with the local Republican Party, the Fayette County Issues Tea Party and also keeps an eye on the County Commission and the county Board of Education as an observer.
• Margaret “Maggie” Laton has lived in Fayette County for 12 years and owns a social media company. She earned an MBA with a major in marketing from Georgia State University and she has previously worked in sales and as the business manager for an accounting firm.
Laton has also been involved with the Business Women of Fayette and Coweta Counties and serves as a spokesperson for Children’s Miracle Network and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
• Todd Strickland has been a resident since 1975 and owns the award-winning Historical Concepts architecture firm in Peachtree City. Strickland previously served on the Development Authority of Peachtree City for seven years and also served on various planning projects including a task force that developed a vision for the city’s west side.
Strickland graduated from the University of Georgia in 1993 with a degree in economics.
• Dennis Dorsey has lived in Fayette County for three years and has previously served as a county commissioner in Bibb County, on the Macon Economic Development Commission and also as a private business owner.
Dorsey also has served as the vice president of membership for the Flint River Council of the Boy Scouts of America and is a member of the Fayette County Republican Party and the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.
Hicks, Hinchey, Laton and Strickland were appointed to full terms on FCDA, while Dorsey will be filling the unexpired term left by the resignation of FCDA Chairman Randy Hayes. They were chosen by a selection committee composed of county commissioners Steve Brown and Randy Ognio.
