The 2020 Gilmer Chamber Annual Meeting was held at the First Baptist Church on January 16.

Before the business of the day, Al Lopez, CEO of Alma Coffee in Canton delivered an inspiring keynote speech about progress, hard work, and doing right by your employees. Lopez' daughter and son-in-law hosted a coffee bar at the Annual Meeting and served their most popular blends. 

Member of the Year

The 2019 Member of the Year award was given to Tiffany Watson with Endless.Ink. 

Business of the Year

The 2019 Business of the Year award was presented to Chattahoochee Technical College.

Community Champion 

The Inagural Community Champion award was given to Dr. Shanna Downs, GCCSS Superintendent.

Citizen of the Year

Mr. Steven Purvis, 2018 Citizen of the Year, announced this year’s Citizen of the Year, Mrs. Merle Naylor. For more information on the Citizen of the Year program, please visit our Citizen of the Year page.

Chamber Successes

Following the announcement of the Citizen of the Year, the Chamber’s 2019 Chairman of the Board, John Marshall, highlighted some of the successes of 2019. The Chamber also presented those directors leaving the board with a token of appreciation. Those board members who will be greatly missed are:

• Beth Bennett
• Michelle Bentley
• Steven Purvis
• Trent Sanford

The Chamber also recognized it’s 2020 Board of Directors:

• Chair, Chris Wang
• Chair-elect/Vice Chair, Bobby McNeill
• Past Chair, John Marshall
• Secretary/Treasurer, Jason Smith
• Donna Reece
• Mark West
• Roberto Murillo
• Jared Arrant
• Jason Smith
• Andy Ashurst
• Betsy Kelly
• Jill Chastain
• Jennifer Futch
• Ashley Phillips

The board of directors then took their oath of office before John Marshall passed the gavel to 2020 Chair Chris Wang who spoke about the upcoming year.