Presbyterian Day School, attended Auburn University and graduated from Mercer

University with a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in Accounting. Allen also

attended Dallas Theological Seminary.

Allen started his restaurant career as an accounting supervisor for RMS Family Restaurants

(RMS) in 1985. In 1988, he was part of a management led leveraged buyout that took RMS

private and resulted in his promotion to chief financial officer. Allen passed the CPA exam

in 1989, therefore earning his status as a certified public accountant. In 1995, Allen was

promoted to president and chief executive officer of RMS. He helped lead RMS to becoming

the 10th largest restaurant franchise company in the U.S.A., operating over 130 restaurants

in 3 different states, including Shoney’s, Popeye’s, Fazoli’s, Church’s, and Captain D ’s.

In 1999, Allen and partner Mike Chumbley became Cheddar’s Casual Cafe4 franchisees. They

also purchased the 11 Captain D’s from RMS in 2000. Allen now owns 8 Cheddar’s in

Macon, Warner Robins, Savannah, Columbus, Augusta, Valdosta, Gainesville, and

McDonough, and 12 Captain D’s in Macon and surrounding areas, including Augusta. Allen’s

business philosophy is based on servant leadership - the biblical principle that the best

leaders are those that serve others. Allen’s business model is based on service to

customers, employees, and the communities in which his restaurants do business.

Allen has been married to Betsy Middlebrooks Peake for 29 years, and has 3 children -

Kristi, 26, a cosmetologist in Macon and mother to Allen’s only grandchild; Joby, 24, an

Auburn graduate who Captain of the Cross-country team and is now married and working

as an actuarial analyst in Atlanta; and Corrie, 18, a senior at First Presbyterian Day School

who will be attending Mercer University. His mother, Ann Peake, has been involved in

numerous charities in the Macon area. His father, George Peake, who passed away in 2000,

was past president of Georgia Timberlands and was heavily involved in the Georgia

Republican Party. His in-laws, Henry and Jane Middlebrooks, were both life-long educators,

with Henry serving as headmaster at First Presbyterian Day School for 25 years. Jane

passed away in 1994.

Allen’s hobbies include running, playing competitive amateur golf (he qualified in 2005 for

the United States Mid-Amateur), and scuba diving. An interesting fact about Allen is that he

applied for and was interviewed for the reality TV show "The Amazing Race."

Allen has been involved with numerous committees with First Presbyterian Day School,

served as a Trustee of the Georgia State Golf Foundation, and has supported numerous

charities in the Middle Georgia area, including Sav-a-Life Crisis Pregnancy Center, Covenant

Care Adoption Agency, Methodist Youth Home, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Young

Life.

Allen will be in his fourth term in the Georgia State House of Representatives. He serves on

the Appropriations, Ways and Means (as Vice-Chair), Health & Human Services, and Small

Business Development Committees. He also serves on the Republican Caucus Policy and

Politics Committee. He was re-elected in November 2012 by his colleagues as the Majority

Caucus Secretary/Treasurer position, which places him on the House Leadership Team.

He was named the Legislator of the Year by the Advocacy Resource Center, and was

selected to represent Georgia in the Emerging Political Leaders Program at the University

of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. This program is sponsored by the State Legislative

Leader’s Foundation. He also graduated from the Georgia Legislative Leadership Institute, a

training program designed for rising leaders in the General Assembly.

Allen has helped author and push through legislation in many diverse areas, including bills

aimed at providing tax credits to rehabilitate homes and buildings with historic

designations, improving adoption laws, providing protections for Alzheimer’s patients, was

the driving force behind the new bill passed in the 2010 legislative session banning texting

while driving for all drivers, and most recently authored the bill establishing Georgia's first

Tax Court which will provide easier access for citizens and business to dispute tax issues

with the Georgia Department of Revenue.