For immediate release: January 12, 2021
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta announces the appointment of two new members to the Birmingham Branch board of directors to serve three-year terms beginning January 1, 2021, and ending December 31, 2023.
Maye Head Frei was appointed by the Board of Governors. She is board chair of Ram Tool Construction Supply Company in Birmingham. From 1997 to 2017, Frei was vice chair of administration at the family-owned business, which is one of the largest suppliers to commercial construction markets in the United States. She is a graduate of Yale University.
Larry D. Thornton Sr. was appointed by the Atlanta board of directors. He is president and CEO of Thornton Enterprises in Birmingham, a McDonald's franchisee with seven restaurants in the Birmingham area. He is a graduate of Alabama State University.
The remaining directors of the Atlanta Fed's Birmingham Branch include:
- Merrill H. Stewart Jr., president of The Stewart/Perry Company in Birmingham (term expires December 31, 2022),
- David M. Benck, vice president and general counsel of Hibbett Sports in Birmingham (term expires December 31, 2021),
- Brian C. Hamilton, president and CEO of Trillion Communications Corporation in Bessemer, Alabama (term expires December 31, 2022),
- David L. Nast, president and CEO of Progress Bank in Huntsville, Alabama (term expires December 31, 2021), and
- Christy Thomas, chief financial officer of Milo's Tea Company in Birmingham (term expires December 31, 2021).
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta branch directors provide economic information from their industries and the branch territory to the district Bank's president and head office directors, who use the information in discussing monetary policy options and making discount rate recommendations. The Board of Governors appoints three of the Birmingham Branch directors, and the Atlanta head office directors appoint four.