COOKEVILLE – The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed Jay Albrecht, Seven Senses Food & Cheer; Jeff Beckman, Perdue Farms; Chad Gilbert, Putnam Properties; Karen Langley, SAIC; and Brandon Parrish, Mortgage Investors Group, to its board of directors. These appointees will replace outgoing board members Steve Forgey, SouthEast Bank; Jeffrey Jones, Wimberly Lawson Wright Daves & Jones; Michael Lenhart, Tennessee Heart; Ben Prine, Chick-fil-A; and Matt Swallows, The Swallows Agencies, and will each serve on the board until Dec. 31, 2021.
“We are honored to welcome these experienced professionals to the chamber board,” said President/CEO George Halford. “The combined knowledge and expertise of our volunteer leadership will positively impact what our chamber has already put in place for the future.”
Returning members of the board of directors include Becky Magura, WCTE; Gina Billings, Averitt Express; Ron Taylor, Academy Sports + Outdoors; Slade Stroud, Stroud’s Barbeque; and Thomas Payne, Tennessee Tech University, whose terms expire at the conclusion of 2019. Jim Darter, Cash Express; Rebecca H. Smith, Kevin Bowling, Ebenezer Acres Foundation; and Natalie Stout, The Realty Firm, will serve until December 31, 2020.
Bill Curran, ATC Automation CEO, succeeds Marty Maynord, American Bank & Trust, as chairman. Maynord becomes the immediate past chair replacing the outgoing Jill Horner of Hooper, Huddleston & Horner Funeral Homes.
Other additions to the board’s executive committee include Mark Odom, Rogers Group, chair-elect; Wayne Cravens, Cravens & Co., secretary/treasurer; Phillip Baker, Farm Bureau Insurance, Community Development and Public Policy vice chair; LaShaun Jones, TownePlace Suites, Visitors’ Bureau vice chair; Lee Jones, Organizational Development vice chair; Don Viar, Highlands Economic Partnership vice chair; Adam Bernhardt, ATC Automation, Workforce Development and Education vice chair; and Philip Oldham, Tennessee Tech University, Economic Development vice chair.
The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce aims to develop and maintain an economic climate that creates and retains jobs and enhances the quality of life for all citizens of Cookeville-Putnam County.