Men of Valor is supported by a Board of Directors, made up of successful community leaders who give generously of their time and talents.

They are:

John Deberry, Jr. was appointed as a Senior Advisor to Governor Bill Lee in December 2020 and continues to serve in that role. 

John was elected to serve Memphis as State Representative for House District 90 from 1995-2020.  He was a House member of the 99th through 111th General Assemblies.  He served on the House Education Committee, House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee, Finance Ways and Means Committee and Finance Ways and Means Subcommittee.  He also served two terms as the Democrat Caucus Minority Leader Pro Tempore

John is former Chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators and Former Chairman of the Children and Family Affairs Committee.  He is President of John J. Deberry and Associates and has over twenty-five years of experience as a marketing, advertising and public relations executive. 

John has been a minister since 1968.  He served as Pastor at Parkway Village Church of Christ for 28 years and is currently the Pastor of Coleman Avenue Church of Christ in Memphis, Tennessee.  He is invited to and participates in Lectureships across the county.

John is a graduate of the University of Memphis and Freed-Hardeman University.  He also attended Christian Brothers University where he studied marketing and computer programming.  He was married to his wife, Georgia for over 40 years prior to her death in 2015.  The Deberrys have two daughters, Chevida and Victoria.

President and founding partner of Southwestern Investment Services, Inc., Jeff has been Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Provider for Investments since 2002. His leadership has helped grow Southwestern Investment Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Southwestern Company, into one of the top-producing branches of Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Mr. Dobyns holds Certified Financial Planner TM, Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant designations. He graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he earned a degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance. He is married to Amy, and they have four children, Gracyn, Hunter, Logan, and Tanner. Jeff and his family attend Brentwood Baptist Church. He has been a Men of Valor volunteer and mentor since 2007.

Jason has worked in the financial services industry since 1999 and is currently the Practice Leader for Loan Review & Credit Services at Elliott Davis, LLC.  He graduated from MTSU in 2002 with a degree in Economics and passed the CPA exam in December 2014.  The majority of his career has been spent in Credit Administration and providing loan review services.  Jason has been happily married to his wife, Laura, since December 2002 and has two boys, Emmerson and Bennett.  He has been a member of Antioch First Baptist Church since 1997 and has served as a Deacon since 2006 along with various other leadership positions within the church.

Eddie Hutton is an active partner in Interstate AC, an HVAC company that has served Nashville and the surrounding counties since 2004. He has been involved in numerous business ownership and property development projects around Nashville. Eddie has been a long-time mentor and job placement partner with Men of Valor. He continues to volunteer weekly inside the prison and also serves on the Men of Valor Board of Directors.

Jon M. Foster is president of the American Group of Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of healthcare services.  He is responsible for approximately 92 of HCA’s hospital operations in Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, northwest Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and the United Kingdom.

Foster joined HCA in 2001 as the president and CEO of St. David’s HealthCare in Austin, Texas.  Prior to his current role, Foster served as president of HCA’s Central and West Texas Divisions from 2006 to 2011.  Before joining HCA, Foster served in various executive capacities with the Baptist Health System in Knoxville, Tennessee, and The Methodist Hospital System in Houston, Texas.

Foster has served on a number of national and state-level governing boards.  In addition, he serves on the Board of Trustees for Cross Point Church, Nashville, where he and his wife are members.

Jon holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare from Trinity University and a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from Baylor University.

Jim Klonaris is a Knoxville-based small business entrepreneur and community developer. His
career spans three decades of both corporate and entrepreneurial leadership, ranging from working
within a FORTUNE 100 organization to executive leadership in a privately held Knoxville-based
company. He is an entrepreneurial designer, developer, and CEO of several award-winning
restaurants, event venues, and service companies. Jim holds a B.F.A. from the College of Art and
Architecture from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has lived in Knoxville for over 48 years,
dedicated to the enrichment of the Knoxville community. Jim is most proud of his wonderful
marriage of thirty-four years to his sweetheart, Lori Anna and being Dad to three phenomenal young
adults, Demetrios, Despina, and Eleni. Jim and his wife Lori are also proud grandparents of five
grandsons.

A 40-year veteran in the hospitality industry, Glenn Malone has a wide breadth of experience and skills.  During his career he has been active in planning, financing, developing, executing pre-opening disciplines and managing on-going operations for hotels ranging in size from 88 rooms to 2,883 rooms.  His expertise also includes a working knowledge of design and operation of meeting and exhibit space, a key demand generator driving the success of many of the projects he has worked.  He has personally led partnerships owning hotels, has executed public offerings of equity and debt in capitalizing these hotels, and has completed numerous single-asset financings for both new and existing hotel assets.  He is skilled in evaluating markets and determining and implementing the aspects of hotel projects that attract existing demand and/or induce new demand.   

Malone has been a key player in launching hotel brands and brand extensions.  He has led the creation of supporting systems and structures to ensure team members are aligned with the organization’s goals, and that these individuals are valued and rewarded for their personal contributions to deliver on the goals of the organization.  Malone works with architects, contractors, investors, lenders, suppliers and employees at the hotel operating level.  He has worked on both the hotel brand franchisor side of the table and the franchisee, developer/operator side of the table.

Mr. Oman has been married for over 35 years to his wife, Martha, and they have two married daughters, Catherine and Elizabeth and three grandchildren. He received a BS degree in Building Science from Auburn University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. He is president of Oman Systems, Inc., a software development company based in Nashville. He has served as a Deacon and an Elder at First Presbyterian Church and currently attends The Village Chapel. He has served as a mentor and board member for Men of Valor.

Paul Rutledge has been married to Susan Rutledge for over 40 years. They have two children and six grandchildren who live in Brentwood and Nashville. Paul and Susan are members of Brentwood Baptist Church, where Paul has served on the Board of Trustees, Staff Resource Team and Financial Management Team. He is currently an Executive Partner with Shore Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Chicago. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Chinaco Healthcare Corporation until it was sold to Bain Capital Asia Fund. Paul retired from HCA after 31 years. In his last role of Group President he was responsible for 61 facilities in 10 states, as well as in London, England. Paul obtained his Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Georgia and a Masters in Health Administration from Georgia State University. Paul has served on the boards of numerous professional associations, including American Hospital Association, Tennessee Hospital Association and Federation of American Hospitals. He currently serves on the Board of Quorum Health Corporation. He has also served on several nonprofit boards, and is currently serving as Board Chair of Mission Increase Middle Tennessee.

Patrick D. Swindle has served as CoreCivic’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since December 2020.  From January 2018 until December 2020, Mr. Swindle served as Executive Vice President and Chief Corrections Officer.  From October 2016 to January 2018, Mr. Swindle served as Senior Vice President, Operations.  From April 2014 to October 2016, Mr. Swindle served as Vice President, Treasury and Strategic Development. From August 2013 to April 2014, Mr. Swindle served as Vice President, Strategic Development. From July 2009 to August 2013, Mr. Swindle served as Vice President and Treasurer.  Mr. Swindle joined CoreCivic in 2007 as Managing Director, Treasury.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Swindle spent 10 years in equity research in the equity capital markets divisions of SunTrust Equitable Securities, Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. and Avondale Partners, LLC.  During his time as an equity analyst, Mr. Swindle focused his research on outsourced business services, government and healthcare industries, including partnership corrections. 

Mr. Swindle holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Western Kentucky University.

Jake Stansell and his wife Larissa have four children: Lily, Anna Reid, Everett, and Margaret. Jake, a native Nashvillian, is a member of Christ Presbyterian Church. Jake is a graduate of Brentwood Academy and the University of Tennessee with an electrical engineering degree. Currently, Jake is the President of C&D Safety Company, a highway pavement marking company serving middle Tennessee. He is also co-owner of Stansell Electric Company, along with his brother David, an electrical contracting company started in 1940 by his grandfather, James N. Stansell, Sr. Jake is a Past President of the Tennessee Road Building Association. Jake is also a founding board member of Take Heart, a charity that partners with local leaders to serve persecuted Christians around the globe.

Overton Thompson has worked in commercial litigation since 1984, currently as partner with Bass, Berry & Sims. He graduated from Vanderbilt in 1981 and from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1984. He has been, and continues to be, actively involved in many, varied community and volunteer organizations. Involved with Men of Valor since 2003. He is married to Robin, and they have three children, Jillian, Emily, and Overton. They are members at First Presbyterian Church, where he is a Sunday school teacher and elder.

Tom White is one of the founders of Tune, Entrekin & White, P.C. and a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School.  He is a past president of the Nashville Bar Association and is considered by many as one of the preeminent land use attorneys in Nashville.  He frequently handles litigation matters and appears before Metro agencies involving land use issues.  He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is generally listed among the Power Leaders in Davidson County.

Mr. Wallace has been an insurance broker with Willis Group for over 25 years. Raised in Nashville, Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Alabama in 1981, he serves as an Elder of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Board Member of Centerstone Mental Health Centers, Board Member for the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee and Trustee for Harpeth Hall School. Mr. Wallace married Elizabeth in 1984, and they have four children.

Mr. Greene is a 21-year veteran of HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) and has served as CEO of TriStar Skyline Medical Center since 2020, a two-campus, 400-bed tertiary hospital serving patients in a multi-state region. Prior to joining Skyline, Mr. Greene served as CEO at TriStar Horizon Medical Center for five years and COO at two HCA facilities. Developing new services with more than $250M in capital deployment, Greene has been recognized as a growth oriented leader while maintaining an unwavering commitment to quality, culture, and people.
Mr. Greene was named a 2014 Rising star and twice-named a “Top 40 under 40” by Becker’s Healthcare. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executes, a Certified Public Accountant, earned a BSBA from Samford University and an MBA from Nashville-based Belmont University.
Mr. Greene has been married to Amy for twenty years and they have three children; Riley Kate (18), Davis (17), and Ellie Rose (15).

Founder and owner of The Bed Store, a market-leading mattress retailer in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is married to Misty Cunningham, a former VP of Marketing for Regal Entertainment Group and current partner in Groth and Cunningham Real Estate, and CEO of Red Dress Properties, a home remodeling and flipping company. Roger is the proud father of three amazing and productive daughters, ten grandchildren, and one great-grandson. A graduate of Palm Beach Atlantic University with a B.A. Degree in Religion and Psychology, and a minor in Philosophy, Roger attended New Orleans Theological Seminary where he worked on a Master of Divinity degree. He is an ordained Baptist Minister. Currently, Roger serves on the University of Tennessee Cancer Institute Community Advisory Board and has served as President of the HOA of the last three neighborhoods where we have been fortunate to reside.

Joe Scarlett spent nearly thirty years in leadership roles with Tractor Supply Company, most of them as President and Chairman.  He is probably best known for developing an employee-focused company culture that has been subsequently replicated far and wide.  Tractor Supply Company was honored by Forbes as one of the “Best Managed Companies in America” and Scarlett was recognized as Ernst & Young’s Southeast Entrepreneur of the Year.

Today, Joe is engaged in supporting the development of other community leaders, advancing his family foundation’s mission to improve educational outcomes across Middle Tennessee, and serving in leadership for the bipartisan Beacon Center.  Joe and his wife, Dorothy, are nearly inseparable after 50-plus wonderful years.

Personal: Grew up in Corinth, MS. Lives in Franklin TN (Founders Pointe) with wife Amy, Assistant Director of Planning for Franklin, daughter Gabi, 11, and son Max, 8. Attends Our Savior Lutheran Church. Passions are building up others, particularly those without the means or mentorship across older youth or people requiring a second chance. Past activities include partnering with Franktown, 4:13 Strong, yearly support of Nashville’s rescue mission Room-in-the-Inn program.

Education: 2002 Naval Academy graduate, OIF/OEF Veteran with multiple deployments 2003-2007 as Navy Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer. 2011 Northwestern MBA and Masters in Eng. Management graduate.

Work Experience: 15 years of industry, consulting, and private equity experience. Most recent job experience was as a Vice President of Operations for Platinum Equity. Currently majority owner and manager of Dark Horse Electric, 55-person company in east TN that was acquired 1/1/22 after executing a self-funded small business search in 2021. Highly desiring to hire Men of Valor as the Knoxville campus is up-and-running.

Why I’m interested: I believe strong men are required for society and mandated by the bible. To be kind but strong, forgiving but wise is the example that Jesus set. It sets the foundation for strong families, and rehabilitating men who have lost their path is critical to growing the kingdom on earth. Greatly respect and admire the commitment of the people who run the MOV program daily, and the MOV participants who find hope where none may have existed before and allow God into their lives.

Ideas: Partner with Black Men Run and/or F3, two men’s groups that should be welcoming, great arenas for men re-adjusting society to find new friendships and relationships in a productive, healthy environment.