Ann Gaylord Badding is passionate about LaGrange College.

“I call it the ‘Jewel on the Hill,’” she said.

So when she was elected to the College’s board of trustees this year, she was thrilled.

“I love LaGrange College so much,” she said. “It serves such an important niche. There are some kids who are ready to go straight into the larger universities and will thrive in classes with more than 250 students. But then there are those students who have great potential, but may need help in developing self-discipline, time management and direction. That’s what LaGrange College can offer - that individual attention to each student.”

Badding, a retired manufacturing executive with Nabisco Foods, is a LaGrange native who lives in Lockport, N.Y. During her career, she oversaw four manufacturing plants and distribution centers in the Northeast, as well as corporatewide industrial engineering, safety and manufacturing strategies.

She has been a member of the Leadership Council since 2005 and served as chair of a priority committee that looked at retention and recruitment. Additionally, she has served on several volunteer boards, including Kaleida Health, where she was chair of the children’s hospital steering committee, and the board of directors of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association.

Joining Badding on the board are new members Robert L. Carmichael Jr., John M. Jackson Jr., William J. Martin, Edward D. Smith and James M. Woods III.

Carmichael serves as chairman, president and CEO of Commercial Bank & Trust of Troup County, a position he has held since 1991.

This will be Carmichael’s second stint on the college’s highest board. Previously, he served with on the finance committee and the executive committee.

Many organizations have benefited from Carmichael’s volunteer service, including DASH for LaGrange, LaGrange Rotary Club and the United Way of West Georgia. He serves as vice chairman of West Georgia Health System, chairman of the LaGrange Industrial Development Authority and as a trustee for First United Methodist Church.

Carmichael recently completed a term as chairman of the Georgia Bankers Association.

Jackson has practiced dentistry in LaGrange since 1986. He is past president of the Society for the Preservation of Oral Health, a member of the American Dental Association and a fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry.

A member of the Leadership Council for several years, Jackson served as the council’s president in 2004-05 and was the on the solicitation committee of the Defining Moment campaign.

Previously, he was a member of the board of United Way of West Georgia. He now serves as chairman of the West Georgia Health Foundation, which has raised $4.25 million for a new emergency department at West Georgia Medical Center.

Martin is retired from Milliken & Co., where he spent 39 years in research and development. A Georgia Tech graduate, he is a member of that university’s distinguished engineering alumni.

He serves on the Leadership Council as president of that organization.

An active volunteer, Martin works with the United Way of West Georgia, the Rotary Club of LaGrange and the Community Foundation of Troup County. At First Presbyterian Church, he serves as a Sunday school teacher and as chair of the witness and service council.

Smith is a principal of Hutchinson Traylor Insurance in LaGrange. He earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from Wake Forest University. Before returning to LaGrange in 1997, he spent several years with Accenture LLP in its financial services division in Charlotte.

President of the Leadership Council in 2008-09, Smith also is a past chairman of the college’s business and accountancy advisory council.

His volunteer service includes work with the Chamber of Commerce, Boys & Girls Club of West Georgia, Rotary Club and the United Way of West Georgia.

Woods is vice president of enterprise IT business, support and planning for AT&T in Atlanta.

A member of the Leadership Council since 2005, Woods also serves as a class coordinator for the Class of 1978, and he is a member of the alumni council.

He and his wife, Ruthie, established the Jane Ellen Speers Endowment for religion majors to commemorate his mother-in-law’s 50th class reunion at the college. The couple often has provided funds to international students who require financial assistance to continue their studies at LaGrange.