Chamber Appoints Committee to Find New CEO

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

After nearly six months without a chief executive officer, The Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce has formed a search committee to find a new leader for the organization.

The seven-member search committee is:

Brett Justice Chief Strategy Officer at AnMed Health, who is chair of the committee; John Don, Chief of Staff for Anderson University President Evans Whittaker; Tony Lawen, Facility Personnel Manager Michelin- US2 Anderson; Dalton Freeman, Regional Vice President of HMR Veterans Services, Inc.; Julio Hernandez, Assistant to the President for Community Outreach & Engagement, Clemson University; and Josh Shore, Vice President of Strategic Projects and Governmental Affairs at Medshore Ambulance Service.

Freeman and Shore are the only two of the six members on the committee who live in Anderson County.

The chamber has been less than transparent in recent months following the summer resignation of former CEO Pamela Christopher, and has communicated via email with members of the organization that work is under way to restore the group’s tax-exempt status. 

Decisions made over the next few months will set in motion the role of the chamber and its new leader in Anderson. Carol Burdette, who will officially join the chamber as interim Chief Executive Officer in January, hopes to set the organization in a positive direction moving forward.