Tony Waybright
Brightway Concepts
With 30+ years of insight into real estate development gleaned through experience serving law firms, financial workouts, and real estate zonings, Tony provides creative solutions in the commercial real estate brokerage and advisory arena. A Virginia Tech alum, Tony leveraged his BS in Finance/Risk Management to serve the professional liability insurance market for 20+ years. With the dawn of the Great Recession, Tony pivoted to apply his expertise to financial workouts and turnarounds for clients. The solutions he provided to his clients to leverage real estate led to his current role at Brightway Concepts.
Locally, Tony led the effort beginning in the late 90’s to reshape the 285/Atlanta Road area including Ivy Walk, Olde Ivy and WellStar. He founded the West Vinings Civic Association in 2005, bringing in West Village. He Co-founded Oakdale Alliance which collaborated with Northside for its current placement. His volunteer efforts led Bob Ott to appoint him in 2020 as Planning Commissioner for Cobb County District 2. Tony was a founding leader of St. Benedict’s Church and School, served on the Cobb County Transit Advisory Board, fought for SPLOST money for Campbell and its feeder schools, and led local school councils.
He was a founding member of the Campbell High School Theatre foundation - under his leadership the program doubled its faculty and fought for the new theatre to meet its needs. Tony was once a US Forest Service Firefighter, is a Kentucky Colonel appointed by then Governor Patton, served as a Director at Georgia High School Fencing Tournaments and is the only known Scoutmaster in Georgia that has wrestled a 600-pound bear.
Kyle Harmon
Atlanta Professional Landscaping, LLC
Kyle is a husband, father, and entrepreneur who has spent his entire life in Smyrna, growing up in a family of lifelong Smyrna residents. He began mowing lawns in high school, and after graduating from Campbell, he went on to pursue a degree in horticulture from North Metro Tech. He purchased a home in the same neighborhood he grew up in, and loves sharing memories there with his wife, Katie, and sons, Korbin and Kamden. Little did he know his high school side hustle would eventually turn into the successful Atlanta Professional Landscaping. He began with one crew and has grown to 13 crews, and his mom still helps with the bookkeeping side of the business. His trucks can be seen across metro Atlanta. He is inspired by his two sons every day. They love pointing out his trucks on the road and seeing “Daddy’s workers” hard at work around town. In his spare time, you can find Kyle working out, playing with his boys, or enjoying his backyard.
Paul Powers
Powers Electrical Solutions
Master Electrician, Paul Powers established Powers Electrical Solutions in 2012. Based in Smyrna, Powers provides electrical service to residential and commercial customers in Cobb County and metro Atlanta, specializing in troubleshooting, repair, and installation of electrical items in your home or business.
In 2021, Paul won the Smyrna Business Association’s “Business Person of the Year.” Powers Electrical won the coveted Cobb Chamber of Commerce “Top 30 Businesses of the Year” in 2021 and has been voted “Best Electrician” at the Best of Cobb the last four years in a row.
Paul credits his success to his top-notch team who support his goal to provide the best customer service and most cost-effective solutions for customers. Paul and his team keep up with all the latest technology and innovations, such as smart devices and ever-changing electrical codes. Powers has also recently been certified as a Tesla electrical vehicle installer.
A long-time board member and current President of the Smyrna Business Association, Paul is also the outgoing President of the Smyrna Rotary Club, and an active Little League and football coach. An avid outdoorsman, Paul and his family live in Smyrna.
Alex Powell
Alliance Roofing
Alex has been a resident of Cobb County since graduating from Auburn University and marrying his college sweetheart, Emily, in 2001. They moved to Smyrna in 2002 and have three children: Jack, Melody, and Charlie.
Professionally, Alex has been an employee of The Home Depot for 14 years where he is currently a National Install Merchant. He has served as a strategic leader for multiple installation and services programs at the company over the years, and loves dissecting a business to learn what drives it and makes it successful – or not!
He also owns Alliance Roofing, LLC, along with his business partner, serving the greater Atlanta area with commercial and residential roofing repairs and replacements. Alex loves to take the lessons he has learned from The Home Depot and implement what fits into a much smaller organization. They believe if they create a culture that attracts great employees, then they will attract great customers!
From 2014-2018, Alex was privileged to serve on the Board of Directors for Covenant Christian School, and considers it a tremendous experience in leadership through influence and learning to lead leaders.
For the past four years, Alex has been a youth wrestling coach for the Spartans Wrestling Club where his youngest son Charlie has been a wrestler. The SWC functions as a feeder organization for the Campbell High School wrestling program. Alex shares that one of the most rewarding experiences has been seeing the light bulb come on for young wrestlers when things start to click. They go from being the hunted to the hunter right before his eyes – sometimes in the middle of a match!
Staying in shape is extremely important to him, and he has been physically active for most of his life. Besides wrestling, he has a 5-day-a-week Crossfit habit. Alex continues to compete as a wrestler to this day, having placed in several adult tournaments in the past three years. He will be participating alongside his son, Charlie, in the Georgia State Games this year at Life University.
Thomas Mercer
Restoration Tree Care
Thomas was born and raised in Watkinsville, GA. After 10 years at Samford University, he is earning a degree in Business Administration. Three things to know about Thomas: he loves Jesus with all of his heart; he loves his wife, Melanie, and their two teenage children; and he loves the outdoors. His favorite hobby is frisbee golf, where he can study trees while having fun.
Thomas served as both an inner-city and college youth pastor before starting Restoration Tree Care, LLC. He considers his company to be a tree service with a three-fold purpose: restoring people’s property to safety and beauty, restoring the lives of victims of human trafficking, and restoring the lives of those who need a second chance. While Thomas is the owner of the Restoration Tree Care, he still loves climbing trees so much that you will find him in a tree at least four days a week. Thomas works alongside his crew while mentoring and developing them to become men of character and make a positive difference in their community. His desire is to help create men of integrity with a strong work ethic, who know a job is not done until it’s done right.
Dr. Jeff Pennington
First Baptist Church Smyrna
Dr. Jeff Pennington serves as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Smyrna. A Georgia native, he earned his Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Jeff and his wife Alison have been married for 21 years and they have four daughters: Amelia, Sadie, Paige, and Hannah.
From the time the Penningtons arrived in Smyrna in 2015, they have greatly loved their church and their city. Simply put, Jeff tries to spend as much time as he can caring for others. He enjoys running on the Silver Comet, coaching girls’ basketball for Upward Sports, and having an unhurried cup of coffee at Café Lucia. But more than anything, Jeff loves spending time with his girls and taking his wife Alison to dinner for their Thursday date nights.
Jeff truly believes Smyrna is a fantastic place to live. Every day he strives to serve others and live like a missionary. He is passionate about preaching the Bible, and he loves to bring people of different backgrounds and ages together. His life has been completely changed by the power of Christ’s love, and he longs to help others share in that same experience.
John Zercher & Eddie Hudson
The Dwell Collective
John Zercher began working in the Atlanta real estate industry in 2005. He is a member
of the Cobb Board of Realtors and has developed a stellar reputation as a real estate
mentor. He has served on the KW Leadership Council for the past five years, and in
2019 he co-founded The Dwell Collective. He is father to 3 beautiful children, and
enjoys live music in his spare time.
Eddie Hudson is a Georgia native who has been in Real Estate since 2001. After many
years of growing a successful business, he has stepped out of production and
transitioned to working as the co-owner and Chief Sales Office of The Dwell Collective.
When Eddie is not busy supporting agents, he can be found hiking, hunting, or spending
time with his family and friends.
Together, John and Eddie, are incredibly proud of the exceptional team they have built,
and with over 130 5-Star Google reviews, their dedication to providing top-tier client
care is evident. As business owners they have had the opportunity to support local
charities such as “Our Giving Garden,” “Stamp Out Hunger,” and “Cobb Street
Ministries,” while also supporting “New Story,” a global charity fighting against
homelessness.
