Chamber begins search for new President

ELLIJAY, Ga. – In August, the President and CEO of the Gilmer County Chamber, Paige Hutto, announced her resignation to be with family and her husband in Alabama.

Today, the Chamber has announced they are beginning their search for their new President alongside the Chason Group, a “search firm” based in Georgia. This group has been used by other groups in both Gilmer and neighboring counties searching for officials like Presidents, Managers, and other positions in need of certain qualifications as their website says the perform searches for “Executive Talent.”

They are also currently working with Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, Murray County Industrial Development Authority, and Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce in searches. According to a release from the Chamber, this is the same group that identified Hutto as a candidate when she took the position of President/CEO, and also Alan May before her.

According to their statement, the current Chair of the Board of Directors, Chris Wang said, “Our board is taking a very organized and strategic approach to the executive search process for a new president. We want to make sure we identify the most qualified professionals who have the skill sets required to move the chamber and community forward in terms of tourism and business growth. We are open to traditional and nontraditional candidates as long as they have the skills sets required of the position. A lot has changed since Paige came on board and we want to make sure we get it right again, just as the previous search committee did.”

The process is set to take between 100-120 days according to the Chason Group who says phase 1 has already been completed as they have met with stakeholders and interviewed members to see the type of person and the skills that they want to find in their new president. Today, they announced the opening and are accepting resumes until September 18, 2020.

After that, selected candidates will be interviewed and narrowed until the Chamber finally reaches its decision on the candidate to fill the position. With the process completed, all indications point that the Chamber should have its new leader before Christmas.