Chamber welcomes new board chair
The Gordon County Chamber of Commerce announced its 2021 Executive Board and Board of Directors following the installation of new leaders in meetings held last week.
Outgoing Chair Julie Walraven, Senior Vice President and Market Executive at First Bank of Calhoun, installed Tracy Farriba, Director of Community and Physician Outreach at AdventHealth Gordon, as 2021 Chair at the Jan. 19 Executive Board Meeting.
Farriba then installed Brent Reynders, M&S Logistics, as Secretary-Treasurer and Chris Tarpley, Shaw Industries, as Vice-Chair. New board members Carol Hatch, Housing Authority of Gordon County; Matt Hibberts, Momon Construction; and Dee Wrisley, Calhoun City Schools; were installed on Thursday, Jan. 21, at the first full board meeting of the year.
The three new board members will join thirteen remaining from last year to form a Board of Directors that includes sixteen local professionals. Those thirteen include Wesley Alexander, StarrMathews Agency; Steve Bayzid, Taco House; Scope Denmon, Boys & Girls Club of Gordon County; Jim Dodd, Dodd
Machine and Tool; Jennifer Dudley, Harris Arts Center; Tracy Farriba; AdventHealth Gordon; Dr. Kimberly Fraker, Gordon County Schools; Karen Jones, LG Hausys; Brent Reynders, M&S Logistics; B.J. Robinson, Georgia Farm Bureau; Chris Tarpley, Shaw Industries; Debbie Vance, Gordon County E-911; and Julie Walraven, First Bank of Calhoun.
“We are very grateful for the service and commitment of our Board of Directors,” said Kathy Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce. “Typically, we would install our new officers and honor our outgoing
officers at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting, but that event, like many of our signature programs, will be conducted
virtually in consideration of the COVID virus. My primary goal last year was to conduct as much Chamber business as possible as safely as possible and that remains true this year.”
“Will Harrison with Mannington Mills, Dr. Brandi Hayes
with Calhoun City Schools, and Paul Worley with the City of Calhoun each completed their board service at year-end and we certainly thank them for the countless hours they invested in the Chamber,” she continued.
The Gordon County Chamber
of Commerce accomplishes its program of work through a network of committees working to accomplish projects identified in a five-year action plan created in the 2018 planning retreat.
Each board member is charged with leading at least
one committee as Chair or Vice-Chair, partnering with the Chamber staff person supporting that group. Those committees include Ambassadors/Member Services, Community and Government Affairs, Drugs Don’t Work Task Force, Education and
Workforce Development, Leadership Development, Tourism, and Young Professionals.
The mission of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce is to connect members and the community to promote economic growth.