Happy Half Halloween (for those who celebrate)! Yep, April 30 marked ½ way to Halloween. As Mother Nature gives us a few days of respite before turning us to broil for the summer, I am reflecting on another great month of service to you. April was productive and busy, from beginning to end.
To begin the month, we were pleased to host the final meeting of American Council of Engineering Companies of Alabama Leadership Development Series Class 18 and to speak to them about the importance of community involvement.
Kudos to Opelika Chamber and Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce on another year of successful National Civics Bee® Regional Competitions. We look forward to hosting our 9 finalists on July 16th for the National Civics Bee® Alabama State Finals presented by Kinder Morgan.
Mid-April found me in Arab for a fantastic board orientation with Laura and the Arab Chamber of Commerce team. As the month started to wind down, I headed south to Baldwin and Mobile Counties for 3 productive days. First, a stop at the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce to deliver their renewal plague for Alabama Accredited Chamber of Commerce before meeting Casey of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce for a site visit for this fall’s Professional Development Conference presented by The Fund. The Daphne Civic Center is going to be a great location for the conference, and I hope you have the dates marked on your calendar, September 28-30. The next day was spent with Shilo and the Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce for a fun, interactive board retreat and planning session. Before heading north, I visited with members of the Chickasaw Chamber of Commerce board as they look to rebuild and reinvigorate their organization. I am excited to watch them grow!
Finally, the last week of the month was a great celebration in Huntsville. What a wonderful few days at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce for our Executive Leadership Conference. I cannot say thank you enough to the chamber team for being such gracious and welcoming hosts. From the beginning, through the sessions, community tour, and beyond, the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce team went above and beyond. The Night of Champions awards dinner was an evening of celebrating the best of the best and recognizing the hard work and dedication of all our chamber professionals throughout the state. Congratulations to all our winners, especially this year’s Chamber Champion John Mark Freeman (Childersburg Area Chamber of Commerce) and Professional of the Year Rick Roden (Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce).
This month also brought a lot of planning and connection calls as we look forward to 2027 and beyond. Bringing resources and opportunities to you is one of the most important aspects of our association. Again, thank you to each of you for believing in and supporting YOUR association. We are proud to get to work with you.