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McKnight new chairman at Georgia Ports

[ May 25, 2019   //   ]

The Board of Directors of the Georgia Ports Authority elected William D. McKnight as chairman on May 20.
“As an entrepreneur and business leader with more than 30 years in the construction industry, Will McKnight has the experience necessary to keep GPA at the forefront, delivering opportunity for growth to large and small businesses across the state,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
McKnight, who has served as vice chairman since 2018, will assume his new responsibilities July 1.
Along with McKnight, the board elected Patrick “Kelly” Farr Jr. as vice chairman, while Joel Wooten will remain in his role as secretary-treasurer.
McKnight thanked outgoing Chairman Jimmy Allgood for his example of steady leadership over the past three years. Under Allgood’s leadership, annual container volumes grew from 3.6 million TEUs to an estimated 4.5 million TEUs, a 25% increase.
“During Jimmy’s tenure, we’ve seen the completion of the outer harbor deepening, we’ve purchased 10 ship-to-shore cranes, kicked off construction of the largest on-terminal rail facility in the country, and expanded our auto capacity,” McKnight said. “Now, we have to continue that momentum to bring the efficiencies of Georgia’s deepwater terminals to even more customers.”
McKnight is a native of Augusta, GA. He graduated from The Academy of Richmond County in 1974 and from The Georgia Institute of Technology in 1979. Following his graduation from Tech, he continued to work for his family-owned construction company in Augusta and has been the President since 1996.
McKnight has overseen the completion of over $1 billion in construction projects.
In addition to McKnight’s extensive career in the construction industry, he has remained active in his community by serving and chairing many boards and committees. He was named Chairman of the Board of Directors of the First Bank of Georgia in May 2010 and then served on the board of State Bank which sold to Cadence Bank in 2018. He is the past President and continued member of both the Augusta Country Club and Augusta Golf Association, and he has served on the boards of Associated General Contractors of America, Augusta Ballet, Richmond Academy Booster Club, Tuttle-Newton Home, Episcopal Day School and First Tee. Mr. McKnight is a member of the Exchange Club of Augusta and Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church.
He has served on the Georgia Ports Authority since 2014 where he has chaired the Development Committee and Finance Committee and served as the Secretary Treasurer and currently Vice Chairman. He is a member of Ocean Forest Golf Club, Sea Island Golf Club, and the Augusta National Golf Club where he has served on the Gallery Committee of the Masters since 2000 and is presently Chairman of the Grounds Committee for the Masters. He has also been a member of the Planning and Development Committee for AU Foundation as well as the Consolidation Committee for MCG and Augusta State University.
He and his wife Janet have raised four daughters.

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