Governmental Affairs Committee

Members & Bios

Back Row {L to R} John Arguelles (Board Liaison), Greg Ready, Mike Lynch, Scott Black, Mike Poulsen (Vice Chair)

Front Row {L to R} Susan Kirk, Margaret Carroll (Chair) (Not Pictured: Steve Packwood)

Margaret M. Carroll CSP, P.E. Chair

Margaret was Principal Safety Engineer at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, and later Manager of Safety Engineering and Manager of Industrial Hygiene.  Margaret led multi-discipline teams of specialists to ensure safety and health in explosives, field tests, fabrication, and construction.  Projects included mining, oil shale retorting, solar energy systems, and nuclear and pulsed power reactors. She served as acting Area Director for the U.S. Department of Labor – OSHA in New Orleans and New Mexico.  Employed as a safety engineer at The Boeing Co. in New Orleans on the NASA Apollo Project.

Margaret was elected President of the American Society of Safety Engineers.  She was also elected President of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

President Clinton appointed her to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH), serving under that administration as well as the Bush administration. NACOSH acts as an advisor to the Secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services.

She is an ASSE Fellow and was awarded the BCSP Lifetime Achievement Award.

Her education includes undergraduate degrees from Louisiana State University and Delgado College as well as graduate degrees from the University of New Mexico and Central Missouri State University.  She is a registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) and a Certified Safety Professional (CSP).

Michael Poulsen Vice Chair

Barbara and I purchased our first lot in Tellico Village in 1987 while serving in the US Air Force.  Several years later we traded in that lot for another, ultimately making our final purchase in Kahite in 1997.  After retiring from the Air Force in 1999, we started building our home and moved in March of 2000.

From 1999 to 2016, I worked for three organizations in Knoxville: Covenant Health, Summit Medical Group and The University of Tennessee Medical Center.  During those years we raised two children and participated in numerous social and charitable organizations.  In recent years I served on the Board of Directors for Chota Community Health Services and a member of the Tellico Village Finance Committee.

Being a Tennessee resident since 1968, I feel I bring a unique perspective to the committees I have the privilege of serving on.  As a Kahite resident, I hope to facilitate positive relationships and improve understanding and knowledge of Monroe County Politics in Tellico Village.

Steve Packwood

My wife Sue and I moved to Tellico Village from Santa Rosa in Northern California last year. We now live in our recently finished home in the village and are enjoying the wonderful East Tennessee lifestyle in our retirement years. I have always been interested in the links between our political process and that of public interest. I see my role as being to keep our Tellico Village updated on the various political issues that are occurring outside of the village and how they might affect our community.

I served in the British Army as a musician for several years. During that service, I was very lucky to have traveled to many different countries around the world. Upon completion of my military service, I obtained graduate degrees in Statistics and International Economics. After a short experience in teaching, I moved into Law Enforcement for The State of California and was involved in staff administration and Government Liaison, I retired after 26 years. Sue retired from a career as an Event Planner for a Medical Device manufacturer and hospital administration.

We both enjoy the wonderful outdoor and active lifestyle that our beautiful surroundings in Eastern Tennessee provide. We are both golfers and members of the Dragon Boat racing group.

I look forward to serving on the committee to ensure our little bit of paradise that we have here in Tellico Village always stays that way.

Susan Kirk

A resident of Tellico Village since 2017, Susan is a retired licensed massage therapist from Florida where she was very active in local government and civic organizations. She served 6 years as a councilman of a coastal city, including a period as vice mayor. She has extensive experience in coalition building and interfacing with government entities to seek solutions. Have served membership on boards dealing with zoning, community redevelopment, regional planning, economic development, and a gubernatorial appointment as a trustee for the local county hospital. Her civic involvement included a directorship of a local Rotary Club being awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship and extensive participation in the chamber of commerce as a lifetime Ambassador. Having participated in the County Leadership program she was chosen Class President.

Susan has continued her commitment to public service since moving to Tellico Village. Wanting to learn more about Loudon County she was in the 2018 Sheriff Citizen’s Academy. In addition to her present position as GAC chairman, she served as vice chairman of the POA Long Range Planning Advisory Committee and served with the Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department as an Emergency Medical Responder/Firefighter. She volunteers with Friends of TV Library fundraisers and is a member of A Thyme for Herbs Garden

Joe Bettencourt

Linda, my fiancé, and I moved to our new home in Tellico Village in June of 2022. We fled the Boston, Massachusetts area following my retirement as an anesthesiologist with the Beth Israel Lahey Health Medical Center (formerly, The Lahey Clinic), where I had worked for over 20 years following discharge from the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army. Linda was, and still is, an elementary school reading specialist, currently working parttime with the Loudon County school system and the Lenoir City Boys and Girls Club as a tutor. We grew up in adjacent towns north of Boston. Following high school, I graduated from Fairfield University in southwestern Connecticut and worked with chronic schizophrenics in the community in the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut. I pursued additional education by attending the Georgetown University School of Medicine, receiving a Master of Science degree in Physiology. I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army upon acceptance into the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (U.S.U.H.S.) and graduated with an M.D. degree in 1986. During my first year of medical school, I earned a slot at the U.S. Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia and I was awarded the Parachutist Badge. I completed an internship, residency in anesthesiology, and fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and achieved Board Certification in anesthesiology in 1990. I was transferred overseas and spent three years at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Landstuhl Germany with a tour at a Combat Support Hospital in support of our forces in Bosnia. Following my tour in Germany, I returned to the U.S. and served on the faculty of U.S.U.H.S. in the Anesthesiology Department and as a member of the Faculty Senate for three years before leaving Active Duty and finally returning to Massachusetts. After a few months as an anesthesiologist at The Lahey Clinic (near Boston), I entered the U.S. Army Reserves on 20 September 2001. As a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, I had two mobilizations to backfill for deployed Active Duty anesthesiologists from U.S. Medical Centers. I retired from the Reserves after eight years in 2009 with the rank of Colonel and served at Lahey as the Director of Neuroanesthesiology and an Assistant Director of the Anesthesiology Residency Program. My last day of work at the Beth Israel Lahey Health Medical Center was 13 June 2022. Since living in Tellico Village, I have had a crash course in the functions of local government and local politics, and I look forward to serving my fellow residents of Tellico Village on the Government Affairs Committee. 

Greg Ready

Greg and his wife Marie moved to Tellico Village in July 2022 from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia upon completion of their home being built in Kahite.  Greg retired from the U.S. Air Force after 30 years of service.  After Greg’s Air Force career, he joined the Department of Defense Inspector General for eight years.  Finally, Greg moved to work for the U.S. Navy Fleet Forces Command Inspector General for another four years before relocating to Tennessee.  Greg’s Inspector General work included participating in, or leading multi-discipline teams of specialists to ensure Department of Defense (DoD) independent oversight of programs including Wounded Warrior Programs, Afghanistan National Security Force Enabling Efforts, U.S. Armed Forces Reserve Component Healthcare, OPERATION UNITED ASSISTANCE DoD Healthcare Response (2014 Africa Ebola Outbreak), DoD Biological Safety and Security,  Foreign Military Forces Counter-Terrorism and Stability Operations Capacity Building, and DoD Military Health System Quality of Care and Patient Safety.  Greg was also an instructor for the Defense Institute for Medical Operations.  Greg completed his Bachelor of Science Degree- in Business Administration and Management, as well as his Master of Science Degree-Management Science.  Greg also completed his U.S. Joint Forces Command, Joint Medical Readiness Fellowship as well as the Office of Personnel Management’s Leadership Education and Development Certificate Program.  Furthermore, Greg is a graduate of both the United Nations Civil-Military Action Office Course and the United Nations Civil-Military Staff Officer Course.

Scott Black

 

Scott and his wife Adrienne moved to Tellico Village from northern Virginia while their house was being built in Kahite, moving in May 2022. Scott retired from Micron Technology in Manassas, VA as a utility plant control room operator specializing in Ultra-Pure Water (UPW) and Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) operations. He was formerly a commercial HVAC/R service technician in the NY/NJ, Austin (Texas), and Washington, DC metro areas and a Compliance/Regulatory Engineer where he provided the information required for approval and compliance with governmental standards as well as customer and industry specific requirements.

Scott chose to join the Government Affairs committee because it is important for Tellico Village to have a presence at and create a positive relationship with municipal, county, and state governments and agencies. His previous experience in working with government at all levels as well as a meticulous attention to detail will aid in accomplishing this goal.

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