Sen. Tolleson, a Republican, serves as the Chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee and Vice-Chair of the Rules Committee. Sen. Tolleson also serves on the Appropriations and Transportation commit-tees.

Sen. Tolleson is a member of the U.S. Department of Ener-gy Intergovernmental Committee on Nuclear Energy. He also serves on the Energy & Environment Committee of the National Conference of State Legislators. He is a member of the Southeastern Energy Board and the Statewide Water Council.

Sen. Tolleson was born in Perry, Ga. on April 26, 1956. He is the youngest of four children born to Mary Shannon Tolleson of Jeffersonville and Thorborn Ross Tolleson Sr. of Perry. Maternal grandparents are the late James D. Shan-non Sr. and Lily Wall Shannon of Jeffersonville, Ga. Paternal grandparents are the late Joseph Meade Tolleson Sr. and Georgelle Smith Tolleson of Perry. Sen. Tolleson’s grandfa-ther J. D. Shannon Sr. served in the Georgia Legislature. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1915 and served four terms. He was then elected to the Senate in 1937 and served two terms.

Sen. Tolleson graduated from the Westfield School in Perry, Ga. in 1975 where he was a member of the golf, football, and basketball teams. He attended the University of Geor-gia in Athens where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. He returned to Perry where he was vice president of Tolleson Supply Company for 19 years. He is a financial advisor for UBS Paine Webber in Macon, Ga. Ross and Low-ell Shepley, also a Perry resident, are the founding partners of the Shepley-Tolleson Financial Group. He also holds the following professional certifications- life, variable annuity, and variable life licenses, Series 7 Securities license, Series 63 State Securities license and Series 65 Investment Advi-sor’s license.

Sen. Tolleson is a founder of Crossroads Bank of Perry, Ga. which was chartered in 1986. He served on the Board of Directors for 12 years. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of Security Bank of Houston County. He is a member of the Perry Chamber of Commerce and was a for-mer Director of the Chamber Board. Ross also served as

Senator Ross Tolleson Senate District 20

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Westfield School in 2000-2001. He is a former Ex-change Club member and is a licensed pilot and scuba diver.

Sen. Tolleson is a member of the Perry United Methodist Church where he attends the John Wes-ley Sunday School class.

Sen. Tolleson is married to Sally Funk Tolleson of Perry. They have three children- a son, Trip, and twin daughters, Ansley and Kelly

-January 2013, Senate Press Office