Chamber chairman passes gavel Friday night

Nearly every chair in the National Guard Armory was filled Friday night as hundreds of folks turned out for the 8 th annual Jackson County Chamber of Commerce annual banquet in Marianna.

Out-going Chamber Chairman John Milton passed the gavel to in-coming Chairman Mickey Gilmore to close the evening after dinner, a talk from guest speaker Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, and the recognition of several people honored with awards for their community efforts in 2011.

In his final official act as Chairman, Milton said he felt confident that he was leaving the Chairmanship in good hands with Gilmore, and that he would continue to take an active part in all Chamber endeavors as his own reign comes to an end.

Gilmore said he and Milton became good friends in 2011 as they worked together on projects and, later, began to prepare for the transition in leadership.

Gilmore also said he has confidence that, when his turn comes to pass the gavel, that Chairman-elect John Alter will be a most worthy successor.

In the meantime, Gilmore said he will do his utmost to carry out his theme for the year, “Taking Pride.”

He said he wants to leave as his legacy a renewed sense of pride in the Chamber and in the community it serves. He said that can be accomplished in part by embracing the ideas of not only current chamber members but from people of all ages in the community at large. He wants to make the Chamber an organization to which even more people wish to belong as the year progresses, he said, and has assembled a board he believes can help achieve that goal. The board for 2012 includes Chamber President and CEO Art Kimbrough, Alter, Milton, Gilmore, Chuck Hudson, Charlotte Brunner, Patrick Bryan, Paul Donofro Jr., Cindy Eade, Jim Froh, Riley Henderson, Melissa Hughes, Liz Jackson, Jason Johnson, Ann Jones, Chuck Lockey, Jeff Massey, David Melvin, Tony Pumphrey, Robby Roberts, Rhonda Sapp, Patty Segrest, Buddy Shelley, Byron Ward and Sandra Warren.

“I don’t know how anyone can fail with the board we’ve put together,” he said. “They’re very vocal, very involved, and we want to make the Chamber so strong that you want to be part of it. I think I’ve got the greatest board…we understand things, we want your grassroots effort, we want you to call us and tell us what you think. If you’re not a member, tell me why, or if you want to make suggestions on how we can make things better for you, we want to know those things.”

As Milton passed the gavel to Gilmore, Gilmore had something to give in return- a handmade wooden bowl as an emblem of remembrance for his year at the helm.

Chamber President and CEO Art Kimbrough had a final word for the crowd. “The Chamber sits at the intersection of business, community and government,” he said. “All of us get the privileges and challenges of working at that intersection to make things better. Friends, board members, chairmen, community members, sponsors and all of us are helping make things happen.”