The Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and Board of Directors have decided to make a leadership change with Skip Alford, President and CEO.
"Fundamentally, the leadership and direction Skip Alford provided based on his past experience as a chamber professional did not align with the vision and strategy desired by the Executive Leadership of the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce," said Mandy Fortune, chair of the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce. "The chamber board of directors and leadership wish Skip the best in finding his next opportunity."
According to Fortune the chamber board of directors will name an interim director in the next few weeks and as always will rely heavily on their volunteers, board members and remaining staff member Jenifer Davis.
Jennifer Davis joined the chamber a few weeks ago, replacing Heather Markle. Jennifer worked for chambers in Milledgeville and Macon. In Macon she was the director of talent and workforce.
"The future of the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce is bright and I am as confident of that fact now as I was when I began serving as a Chamber volunteer over 25 years ago," said Fortune.
Alfords Chamber Experience brought him to Statesboro
Alford and his wife, Suzanne, relocated to Statesboro from Palm Harbor, Florida. He served as president and CEO of the Greater Palm Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce for nearly three years before accepting the position in Statesboro.
He began his chamber career at the Panama City Beach. From there he became the CEO of the South Dade Chamber of Commerce, in the Homestead and Florida City area just south of Miami, in 2015. He went from there to Palm Harbor, which is in the Tampa Bay region, in mid-2017.
Pandemic Leadership
Alford officially took over as President and CEO of the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce on January 6, 2020.
He began implementing a fresh new style of chamber leadership. He started the popular Chamber Power Luncheon series which directly connected chamber members with the leadership of our community.
Alford also began a lunch and learn series promoting local talent to the broader chamber audience. These lunch and learns provided opportunities for small businesses to gain insight on tools and opportunities that are critical to growing their business.
He put together one of the most diverse and impressive boards of directors our chamber has seen in many years.
During the pandemic he worked with Grice Connect, local radio stations and other media outlets to help keep small business connected to their customers and the community.
Probably the one thing he will be most remembered for however, in addition to one of the most incredibly unique annual meetings the chamber has ever conducted, relocating the chamber offices to Bulloch Solutions Experience and Innovation Center.
This move, dramatically increases the chambers presence in the business community and allowed them to leverage the technology assets that Bulloch Solutions brings to the table.
Even though it may have not been a perfect fit, our chamber and community have had some wins with Alford's leadership, under the most unimaginably difficult circumstances brought on by a global pandemic.
GC reached out to Alford to comment, but he declined.
We at Grice Connect join the chamber leadership in thanking Skip Alford for his service and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
