ATLANTA — The Georgia Bankers Association announced this week that two South Georgians have been elected by their peers to serve two-year terms on the GBA’s board of directors.

Glenn Pait Willis Jr., president of South Georgia Banking Company in Tifton, and Michael T. Lee, regional president of Ameris Bank in Valdosta, were elected to represent the southwest and southeast parts of the state, respectively. Ameris Bank is headquartered in Moultrie, and South Georgia Banking Company has a branch here.

Willis has a long history of service to GBA, having previously served as a Group 2 officer. He currently serves on the GBA Community Bankers Committee, Public Affairs Committee and on the board of directors of the GBA Insurance Trust.

His banking career began in 1985 at South Georgia Banking Company. He was named president in 2007.

Willis earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree while majoring in accounting at the University of Georgia.

He is past chairman of the Tift Academy Board of Trustees, past chairman of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce and a 2003 graduate of Leadership Georgia. Willis serves on the boards of the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage. He is a member of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Alumni Association, the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College President’s Club, Tifton Rotary and the American Cancer Society. He is a member and deacon of First Baptist Church of Tifton.

Lee is a past GBA Group 1 officer and past member of the GBA Nominating Committee.

His banking career began in 1991, and he joined Ameris in 2011.

Lee earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Troy University. He is also a graduate of GBA’s Georgia Banking School, the Graduate School of Banking at LSU and completed studies at Birmingham Theological Seminary.

Lee actively serves in his community and is a past chairman of the Greater Valdosta United Way and Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce. Lee is a member of the board of trustees for the Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Foundation South and is a member and past co-chair of the South Georgia Military Affairs Council.