FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 2, 2007
Contact Information:
Jim Yarborough
Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce
706-335-1102
Tim Chason
The Chason Group, Inc.
404-735-0540

Shane Short Selected As President of Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce

An experienced marketing executive and chamber professional has been named the new president of the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce. Shane Short, who currently serves as president of the Clayton County Chamber located south of Atlanta, will assume the local chamber role on October 1. Jim Yarborough of BJC Medical Center and 2007 chair of the chamber made the announcement Friday, September 7 following a unanimous vote of support by the board of directors.

“Shane brings a tremendous amount of vision and leadership to our organization,” according to Steve Schingler of Havertys and co-chair of the committee. “His areas of expertise will build upon the chamber’s existing solid foundation that has been developed over the years. His knowledge, mixed with a strong energy level, will add a great deal of value to our members’ investments.”

The new president was chosen from 30 candidates located in California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. The search process began in early June and took approximately 100 days. “Jackson County is the place my wife and I want to raise our family and become involved,” Short says. “The Jackson Chamber has several components that I feel I can expand with my background of experiences. For example, I believe it is extremely important to organize a small business initiative that addresses the concerns of our members and have a positive impact on their bottom line.”

Short, a native of Georgia, has been president of the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce since January of 2005. The organization’s membership grew by 44% under his leadership to a high of 1,000. Short organized an annual “Clayton Summit” which is an economic development conference for officials, businesses, and developers on the local, regional and state level. The goal of the summit is to build relationships amongst key economic development partners and establish a vision for the community’s future.

The 42-year old executive began his career as a social services coordinator for the Henry County Board of Commissioners. Short has served as a city council member for the City of Forest Park, a lobbyist for Southern Regional Health System and Promina Health System in Riverdale as well as public relations and marketing coordinator for Southern Regional Health System. Most recently, he owned his own advertising and public relations agency.

In 2006, Short was named chairman of the Forest Park/Fort Gillem Redevelopment Authority. The government appointed group serves as the City of Forest Park’s sole agent to the Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment and the Department of the Army on all matters pertaining to redevelopment and reuse planning for property on Fort Gillem. The redevelopment project is expected to exceed $1 billion by completion and will include industrial, commercial and residential mixed use development.
Short received his Bachelor of Arts degree, specializing in philosophy and religion, from Shorter College in Rome. He has also attended the US Chamber’s Institute for Organizational Management and Harold F. Holtz Training Institute at the University of Georgia in Athens. Short has taken courses to work on his Master of Public Administration degree from Georgia State University.

Other professional affiliations Short is involved with include the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Regional Business Coalition of Atlanta, Five Core Metro Atlanta Chamber Alliance, MetroSouth and the Forest Park Business Association.

“The selection process for the new president has been extremely inclusive of our membership and the community,” says Jeff Blair of First Commerce Bank. “We began the process by surveying our membership and conducting stakeholder interviews in the community to determine what types of skill sets were desired of the new president and the major issues he should focus on during his first year in the position. The feedback from those tools indicated that we were looking for someone with excellent communication skills, a great understanding of business and the ability to work as a team player with local governments. Shane has all of these character traits.”

Advertisements for the position were posted on various industry websites, including the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Association and Southern Economic Development Council. Personal contacts were also made with potential candidates throughout the country as a part of the search process. Short was contacted personally to determine his interest in the president’s position.

Each candidate submitting a resume was given the opportunity to complete a detailed application designed to learn more about the candidate and their philosophies on management and leadership. Twenty one of the 30 candidates completed the application. Five of the candidates were chosen for interviews based on a weighting scale derived from the membership and community’s feedback.

Short’s wife, Sally Anne, is a sixth grade teacher and has been selected as Teacher of the Year in two different schools. The Shorts have one daughter, Savannah, who began first grade this year in the Henry County School System.

“In the next few weeks, the chamber will begin the process of searching for a vice president of economic development to complement the skill set Shane brings to the table,” says Yarborough. “Shane’s abilities to build a community consensus on visioning will have a broad scope while the economic development professional will be focused on project management, working with the Economic Development Council of the chamber and the Jackson County Development Authority. Our goal is to have this vice president on board in January of 2008.”

Other members of the chamber’s professional staff include Linda Foster, manager of member services; Jennifer Bruce, economic development assistant; and Hilda Love, customer service representative.
In addition to Schingler, Blair and Yarborough, other members of the search committee included: Keith Ariail, McDonald Hardware; Pat Bell, Jackson County Board of Commissioners; David Bockman, consultant; Eddie Cartee, Huber Engineered Woods LLC; Mayor Buzzie Hardy, City of Commerce; Keith Johnson, Randstad Work Solutions; Scott Martin, Jackson EMC; Sam McDuffie, First Georgia Banking Co.; Gina Mitsdarffer, J & K Utilities; and Roy Stowe, Jackson EMC.

The Chason Group, a consulting firm focusing on executive searches and strategic planning for chambers of commerce and economic development organizations, assisted the chamber with the process.

The Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit, volunteer business organization that serves as the voice of the business community of the Jackson County area. The members of the Chamber of Commerce address a range of issues on a daily basis in an effort to enhance the quality of life and business opportunities available to the citizens of this region of Georgia. This is done in collaboration with government leaders from Jackson County, its nine municipalities, the State of Georgia and the federal government. Through economic development, education, governmental relations and the delivery of member services, the Chamber strives to accomplish its goal of developing leaders and building a community with a high quality of life and opportunities for the future.