UC Chamber of Commerce Officials Meet in Granville
The Upper Cumberland Chamber Executives Association (UCCEA) recently had their first meeting of 2017 in Granville. Local Chamber Director and 2017 UCCEA chair, Suzanne Williams, served as the day’s moderator.
Jackson County Mayor James Kinnard and Frank Hardegree with the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce both welcomed the UCCEA to this historic Jackson County community on Cordell Hull Lake and gave brief community updates.
Several guest speakers were a part of the April meeting. Jody Sliger of the Tennessee ThreeStar program gave an overview of that organization’s operations, talking also about a new website recently unveiled by the State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). Sliger said almost $47 million was invested in 2016 in rural and community development through ECD grants. Upper Cumberland’s new Regional ECD Director Cody Huddleston discussed job creation and talked about how Tennessee’s focus in Europe and Asia has been expanded in recent months to help recruit international investors to the state. He also said more plant site inventory, especially with rail access, is needed in the state and region. Randall Clemmons, representing Granville, spoke about the community’s rich history and the almost 200 volunteers who help organize the festivals, weekly shows and other events here. The UCCEA group also toured Historic Granville as part of the program. Suzanne Williams says they had a great turn-out for the meeting and everyone was so grateful to the Granville folks for their friendly, southern hospitality and the enjoyable tour of the town.
The next UCCEA meeting will be hosted in DeKalb County. Williams says, “I am very excited to have this great regional group of Chamber Directors visiting our county in July and am looking forward to showing them the beauty and wonderful things we have to offer here.”
The Upper Cumberland Chamber Executives Association is designed to help chamber of commerce directors better do their job through educational opportunities, along with networking and idea-sharing with other professionals in that field.
