Search under way for new chamber president

Published 11:14 pm Saturday, April 26, 2008

A search committee to select the next president of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce aims to have a new chamber head in place within four months.

“It could be a little bit shorter than that if everything falls into place and choices become obvious, it could go a little longer if we have to drill down a little further into the candidate pool to find just the right fit for our chamber and our community,” search committee chairman John Bowling said.

The chamber executive board met on Thursday to iron out the process to select the next president and also name the search committee, said Bill Jourdain, chairman of the chamber executive board. Jourdain said the chamber executive board will probably hire an outside consulting firm “to help identify the most qualified candidates for the position.” The process will involve culling the resumes “to the really good ones.” The candidate would then be recommended to the chamber executive board which would conduct interviews and also follow-up interviews. The 13-member chamber executive board will make the final decision, he said.

George Woodward unexpectedly resigned from his position as chamber president on March 27 for personal reasons. He had been chamber president since June 1999. After Woodward’s resignation, the executive board appointed Phyllis Stephens, chamber senior vice president, as the chamber’s interim president. She has been with the chamber for 27 years.

Bowling is a former chamber executive board chairman and the president and CEO of Hamilton Health Care System. At the search committee’s initial meeting, he said members will discuss whether to hire a consulting firm. Bowling said the search committee is “well balanced” and he is pleased with its makeup.

“Not only does it represent core leadership past, present and future of the chamber board itself, but it also includes elected officials of both our city and county, a member of the economic development authority — I think it consists of small, medium and large sized employers as well,” Bowling said.

He said the next chamber president should have a well-rounded background in several areas.

“We’re not only looking for a chamber executive, we’re looking for a community leader,” Bowling said. “It will be important for this person to have characteristics that of course give leadership to the business community, but have a broader view of our entire quality of life in this community.”

Jourdain agreed.

“From my perspective, I think we’re looking for someone who has a lot of experience with chambers of commerce, someone who is very strong in leadership development, community development and economic development,” he said.

The chamber was founded in 1940 and has been accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce since 1971. The local chamber has more than 900 members.



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Members of the search committee to select the next president of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce are John Bowling, search committee chairman (president and CEO of Hamilton Health Care System); Bill Jourdain, chamber executive board chairman (Minor, Bell and Neal); Tom Bundros, board chairman-elect (Dalton Utilities); David Gregg, chairman-elect designate (Alliance National Bank); Lynn Laughter, chamber executive board treasurer (R. Lynette Laughter, LLC); Brian Anderson, chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners; Dick Lowrey, Dalton City Council; Dan Combs, member of the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Economic Development Board; and Vance Bell (Shaw Industries CEO).