Timothy Collins, MD, and Robert Preston selected to serve on Starr Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees
May 6, 2025
Starr Regional Medical Center announced today that Timothy Collins, MD, and Robert Preston have been selected to serve on the hospital’s Board of Trustees. Collins and Preston fill the seats left by Carter Runyan and Vickie Turnbough, MD, whose terms ended December 2024.
“We are excited to welcome Tim Collins and Rob Preston to Starr Regional’s Board of Trustees. They bring a wealth of experience and knowledge of the communities we serve,” said John McLain, chief executive officer of Starr Regional Medical Center. “We are confident that their knowledge of the unique needs of our community, which they have gained from their respective leadership roles, will allow them to be a meaningful voice for our hospitals and the patients we serve as we work to make our communities healthier.”
Collins is a family medicine physician in Etowah with more than 30 years’ experience. He is a graduate of Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa., and completed a residency in family practice at DeWitt Army Hospital in Fort Belvoir, Va. He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Athens.
Preston has served as chief executive officer and president of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce for nearly 20 years. He is a graduate of East Tennessee State University and an avid marathon runner, having competed in marathons in all 50 states and seven continents. He and his wife, Sarah, live in Athens.
Collins and Preston assumed their roles as members of the Board on April 1, 2025, joining existing board members The Rev. Dr. Vant Hardaway, chair, retired/Starr Regional Medical Center Chaplain; John McLain, secretary, CEO of Starr Regional Medical Center; Johnnie C. Carter, MD, Family Practice; Pastor Angel De Hoyos, Woodward Avenue Church of God; and Shane Sewell, COO, Wilson Construction Group. Starr Regional Medical Center’s Board of Trustees meets monthly and is charged with quality oversight, financial management and executive leadership.