Leadership Calhoun County Industry Day

            The Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce created the Leadership Calhoun County (LCC) program as a tool to better prepare and build upon leadership resources within the county; each class contains emerging leaders from the northeast Alabama region. For the month of October, the LCC class was introduced to numerous industrial and manufacturing industries as part of the LCC Industry Day. Lindsay Ward, the Director of Business Development for the Calhoun County Economic Development Council, chaired the LCC Industry Day and organized plant tours for the LCC class to learn about the role manufacturing plays in our community.

The LCC group, led by Lisa Morales, began the day with a presentation from Brian McVeigh, the District Attorney for Calhoun County, who discussed his personal path to leadership. After the leadership series discussion, the LCC group then heard about the economic development initiatives that are taking place with the McClellan Development Authority (MDA). Robin Scott, Executive Director of MDA, discussed the role economic development and industry has played in the life of the former fort and what we can expect to see in its future. Following the discussion around MDA, the class then heard from Don Hopper, the Executive Director for the Calhoun County Economic Development Council (EDC). Mr. Hopper discussed the EDC’s position in recruiting industry to Calhoun County and went into further detail regarding the success of the programs with the new and expanding industries for our region.

Once the LCC class finished the morning discussion revolving around economic development, they then dispersed into smaller groups to tour different industries in our community and to see first-hand the impact of manufacturing. The LCC groups were able to tour the following industries throughout our area: Changer & Dresser; Gnutti Carlo, USA; Carmin Industries; TapeCraft; Aerospace Coatings International; Eastman; Southern Custom Exhibits; Doncasters-Southern Tool; BAE Systems; Lee Brass; Auto Custom Carpets; The Supply Room; Civilian Marksmanship Program; B.R. Williams Trucking; FITCO; Tyler Union; International Automotive Components; and Federal Mogul. For more information on the Leadership Calhoun County Program contact Lisa Morales with the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce at 256-237-3536 or at LisaM@CalhounChamber.com.