County leaders attend Chamber workshop
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Goodwater Mayor Lonnie Caldwell. Photo by Christa Jennings.
Coosa County Superintendent of Education David Stover. Photo by Christa Jennings.
Coosa County Commission Chair Bertha K. McElrath. Photo by Christa Jennings.
Coosa County Judge of Probate Richard Dean. Photo by Christa Jennings.
School Resource Officer Bradgel Moon. Photo by Christa Jennings.
Goodwater Councilmember Louis Childs speaks to a crowd of 20 attendees during the Coosa County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Summit for county leaders. This kick-off event was deemed a success, and a follow-up Leadership Summit is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Goodwater. Photo by Christa Jennings.
By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
Leaders in various capacities of service to Coosa County recently attended and participated in a Leadership Summit led by the Coosa County Chamber of Commerce.
Elected officials present for the workshop were Judge of Probate Richard Dean, Sheriff Michael Howell, County Commission Chair Bertha K. McElrath, District 5 County Commissioner Lamar Daugherty, Superintendent of Education David Stover, Goodwater Mayor Lonnie Caldwell, Goodwater Councilmember Louis Childs, Rockford Mayor Scott White, and Rockford Councilmember Nieshia Whetstone.
Elected officials, chamber board members and other representatives enjoyed a meal by Infinity Coffee Shop of Rockford while networking and participating in the event. In total, 21 individuals were present for the event.
Kathy Fulmer, financial officer for the Chamber of Commerce, and Sharon Haynes, County Extension coordinator, welcomed everyone to the summit and provided an overview of what the chamber is and what it does. The chamber also supplied attendees with “Keep it in Coosa” tote bags and informational sheets.
The March Leadership Summit was stated to be a kick-off event for subsequent workshops, allowing elected officials and leaders of the county to come together to discuss plans, challenges and barriers, events, opportunities, and more.
The elected officials for Goodwater and Rockford provided updates and news from their respective municipalities. Stover provided updates regarding the county’s school system and spoke about perceived barriers and future plans for the system.
Speaking as chair of the County Commission and representative for District 2, McElrath stated that people have to put their political party affiliation aside because the communities are at stake. As she spoke to the crowd she also noted that people and projects are not being ignored, but that proper procedures must be followed, and sometimes things take longer than expected.
Mark Cordell with Madix, a new member to the Chamber Board of Directors, spoke about Madix being the biggest employer in Coosa County. He stated that the company has 500 employees at the Goodwater location and 600 in Eclectic.
He mentioned that after having heard negative comments about the company once he came on board, they increased pay and offered better hours, which in turn resulted in less turnover.
Upon addressing the crowd, Judge Dean mentioned that he is seeing that everyone is starting to work together. He mentioned that the county needs good leadership, good cooperation and more businesses in order to attract more people to the area.
Ultimately, the group discussed the need for collaboration and working together for the betterment of the county as a whole. The summit concluded with talks of setting goals and getting some momentum going, as well as identifying what their visions are for their areas and the county.
Following that kick-off summit event in Rockford, the chamber and attendees agreed to hold another Leadership Summit to continue discussion.
The next Leadership Summit hosted by the Chamber of Commerce will be held at 12 p.m. Wednesday at the Goodwater Community Center, with Mayor Caldwell hosting lunch for the event.
