Haywood Residents in WestStar 2011 Class

Lisa Carlton, Nancy Cates and Sonia Outlaw-Clark, all of Haywood County, are among 30 members of the 2011 WestStar class.


Lisa Carlton

Carlton is city president for First State Bank in Brownsville, where she has worked since 2008. She has previously worked at Regions Bank as a mortgage supervisor in West Tennessee and Wells Fargo Financial in Southaven, Miss. Carlton is the current president of the Brownsville Boys and Girls Club, vice president and fundraiser chairman for the Brownsville Carl Perkins Center, board member for Brownsville Rotary Club and YMCA and advisory board member for Haywood County School Superintendent Advisory Council. She was named “Rotarian of the Year” in 2009-10.

She believes that by participating in WestStar, she will gain from meeting people in surrounding counties that can help her with ideas and connections to grow her community.

Nancy Cates

Cates is the director of the Brownsville/Haywood County Parks and Recreation Department, where she has served for the past eight years. She is involved in many community activities such as Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association secretary/treasurer since 2008, Senior Citizen’s Board chairman, the Exchange Club treasurer and a member of Carl Perkins Center Board and the Park of Dreams Committee. She is a graduate of Leadership Haywood County. She has received numerous awards such as the 4-Star New Facility Award presented by Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association, the Good Neighbor Award from the Woodman of the World and the Woman of the Year Award in 2010.



She looks forward to meeting other leaders by participating in WestStar and hopes to gain new knowledge from WestStar’s group of leaders.

Sonia Outlaw-Clark

Outlaw-Clark is executive director of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Tennessee Association of Museums, Hope for Haywood Disaster Recovery Services, the Hatchie Fall Fest and the Tennessee Downtown–Brownsville Steering Committee. She is a graduate of Leadership Haywood County. She has received the Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year Award, 1993 and 2007, and is a recipient of the 2008 Woodmen of the World Outstanding Citizen Award.

Outlaw-Clark hopes to gain a better understanding of the region; network and build partnerships that will benefit all West Tennessee; and learn new ideas and strategies for improving quality of life in her community.