President

Vered Kleinberger is the current president of KPB. She has been on the Board of Directors for more roughly 15 years and is extremely excited about what the future holds.

She is the owner of Veredesigns, providing marketing and graphic design to local businesses and organizations. Vered has worked in marketing and design since 2004, and is enjoying the flexibility that self-employment offers so she can dedicate time to projects like KPB.

Vered grew up in Marietta, went to college in Atlanta, and then moved to Vermont for a couple years. She had been coming to Pickens County for most of her life, and relocated here permanently in 2002. She began substituting in the local schools and tutoring students after school; this let her really get to know the community.

Vered also enjoys working in the yard, working on projects on her house, and working on her various veggie-oil powered vehicles…. You’ve probably seen her antique diesel Mercedes cars around town.

In 2006, Vered and her little sister drove throughout the Pacific Northwest, up through Canada, and over to Alaska, all powered by used veggie oil! She has been running her vehicles on grease since 2004. Additionally, she recycles and composts almost all her waste, producing less than a grocery-bag sized bag of trash per week!

In 2024, Vered was awarded the Carolyn Crayton Volunteer of the Year by the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation for her work with KPB. Named in honor of Georgia’s first affiliate leader, and someone who galvanized thousands of volunteers throughout her own career, this recognizes a passionate individual who has dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and effort to improving the local environment.

Board Member

Kenny Woodard is the director of the Pickens Recycling Center. His goal while here at Pickens County Recycling is to make this new facility the best in North Georgia. He will provide a service that the people of Pickens will be proud of and will ensure that we are doing the best we can for the future of our world. Along with the help from KPB, together we can provide the best service this county needs.

Kenny was born in Floyd County and graduated from Gordon Central High School in 1987. He worked for Shaw Industries for 20 years, where he worked in the maintenance dept, was then promoted to trainer, then supervisor. He then became the Maintenance Supervisor where he built the machine equipment for that plant.

Kenny went back to college to obtain a technician trade in the electrician field and joined The Faus group as the Plant Electrician, working on PLC’s programing. From Faus, he worked at the Hayes State Prison as a Correctional Officer.

Then began Kenny’s adventures into recycling…. he worked for Floyd County as a Detail Officer for the Rome Floyd Recycling Center. After being there for a time, he was promoted to floor officer, then to Assistant Manager. At that time, they started designing a new Recycling Center for the county at a new location.  Kenny had a big hand in designing the lay out of the machines and their placement. 

At the beginning of 2020, Pickens County members toured the new Floyd Facility; Kenny led the tour, showing them the process. One thing led to another, and he was offered a job to come to Pickens County to build a new recycling center here. 

Kenny has been married to his wife, Stephanie, for 25 years; they have 5 children. Stephanie is a financial consultant for Dr Vargo in Rome. She loves to camp at the lake and is active with the youth at their church.   Zane, the oldest, is a veteran Marine who served 5 tours in Afghanistan and is married with 3 children.  Amanda, their only daughter, is married, has a degree in business, and has given them a beautiful granddaughter, Rosie.  Josh, their middle son, graduated from Berry College and is a school teacher in Rome. He is the defensive coordinator for Rome Middle School; while at Berry College, he played College Football and was head resident.  Matthew, their 4^th child, is attending Ga Highlands College to earn a degree in logistics, is employed with Eagle Rock, and is an outdoors man who loves working on cars. (He is always buying different cars to bring home to fix.)  Samuel, their baby (15 yrs. old), is a football player in high school. He is about 5’11”, 185 lbs., and his favorite thing to do is fish. 

For his enjoyment, Kenny loves to build with wood and cook. He like seeing things in his mind then making them. 

Secretary

Jenna Prince-Farmer grew up in Jasper and attended the University of Georgia to study nutrition and dietetics.

After college Jenna moved to Asheville, NC and attended Western Carolina University to become a Registered Dietitian. She has worked 13 years in the field of nutrition and public health with emphasis on women and children’s health and wellness. She also has worked in her local community to design community health outreach programs for diabetes prevention, hypertension, obesity and general nutrition.

Jenna is excited to be a part of the Keep Pickens Beautiful board and is passionate about sustainable edible landscaping, food security, food justice, and the environment. Her hope is to work with Keep Pickens Beautiful by helping to expand Edible Jasper and other projects that promote healthy food systems.

In her spare time, she loves yoga, gardening, and reading about herbal medicine and nutrition. She lives in the Grandview Lake area with her husband and two children.