Chamber elects new officers

By: John Crane | GoDanRiver.com
Published: December 30, 2008

The Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce has chosen its 2009 officers as it looks ahead to next year.

Marilyn Hanover, technical manager for Sartomer Co. Inc. in Chatham, will be the 2009 chair of the chamber’s board of directors, replacing Roger Gillispie.

Laurie Moran, president of the chamber, cited Hanover’s diverse background and dedicated volunteerism in the chamber.

“She not only has a strong business background, she has a lot of organizational knowledge,” Moran said Monday.

Hanover has served on the chamber’s board of directors since November 2006 and is on the member education committee. She also is past chair of the chamber’s industrial management committee. She is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and a past member of the board of directors of the Southern Piedmont Technology Council.

Hanover could not be reached for comment Monday. Her term begins Jan. 1.

Moran said the chamber’s focus for the region in 2009 will be the same issue the organization has spotlighted the past four years: work force development.

“Without a strong and trained work force, our businesses are unable to be competitive,” she said.

Moran said the area’s labor pool must be trained for industries that already are here and those recruited in the future.

As for 2008, the chamber’s biggest accomplishment was achieving its 5-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, she said.

Chamber officers elected for 2009 also included J. David Holshouser Jr., of Wachovia Services LLC, as chair-elect. Vice chairs for 2009 are Jeffrey V. Haley of American National Bank & Trust Co., Starling McKenzie of the Danville Regional Foundation and Hampton Wilkins of Wilkins & Co. Realtors.

The 2009 chamber treasurer will be Ramsey Yeatts of Aron W. Johnson Auction & Realty, while Patrick Jinks, executive director of United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County, will be secretary. Gillispie will be immediate past chair.

Contact John R. Crane at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987.