Jackson County Chamber names new President/CEO

COMMERCE - After going for almost a year without a full-time president, the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce has hired a new leader that will be in place next month.

Chamber Chairman Mark Valentine said Friday that Josh Fenn, currently the Executive Director of the Development Authority of Bryan County in coastal Georgia, has been officially named President/CEO-Economic Development Director of the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce.

Valentine said Fenn will begin his new duties July 22.

"We are very excited about bringing Josh on board to take the leadership role of our Chamber and our Economic Development program," said Valentine. "After a very diligent search and screening process, we are very enthusiastic about securing a candidate with such an impressive and wide-ranging background of experiences."

A native of Atlanta and a graduate of Wayne County High School, Fenn holds a B.A. in Political Science from LaGrange College. In 2002, at the age of 24, Fenn was named to Georgia Trend Magazine's Top 40 Under 40 list. He is one of the youngest to receive the honor. In 2011 he was named by The Savannah Morning News as one of its "Rising Stars" in the business community. He is active in many professional organizations including The Southern Economic Development Council where he serves as Co-Chairman of their Young Professional Committee for 2013. He has served on The Georgia Downtown Association Board of Directors and various committees for The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, Georgia Economic Developers Association, and Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

"I am excited about joining the Jackson County team," said Fenn. "There is tremendous potential and opportunity to grow the Chamber and to continue the economic development successes that the county has experienced the last few years. I'm impressed with the county leadership and I'm looking forward to working with everyone in the community!"

"Josh's immediate task will be to help stabilize the Chamber team by filling the positions of Membership Director and Membership Sales," said Valentine.

According to Valentine there is already a screening committee working on processing the candidates that have applied to date, and their objective is to narrow the field for the new President to help make the final decisions.