The Livingston-Overton County Chamber of Commerce beginning the search for a new director after Shannon Cantrell announced her resignation.
Overton County Executive Steven Barlow is a member of the Chamber’s Executive Board. Barlow said Cantrell resigned to take a position that was more aligned with her license. Barlow said it is scary territory as the chamber director is an important position regarding the county’s success.
“They deal with not only marketing and tourism but you know economic development is a big role as a chamber,” Barlow said. “Because you know they are the first to know of businesses and take care of the retention of businesses that we have.”
Barlow said the board held a meeting Thursday to discuss the next steps after Cantrell’s resignation.
“We just gotta find somebody that is a perfect fit,” Barlow said. “We are not going to rush into any decision just to have somebody there, but we would love to have somebody with marketing and tourism experience.”
Barlow said though the chamber may have to go in a different direction, he is happy for Cantrell. Barlow said he is optimistic about the future.
“Hopefully this change will bring us a new perspective,” Barlow said. “Maybe new growth can come out of it but we just need to look for new opportunities and a way to grow. We don’t want to go backwards we want to keep going forward.”
Barlow said Cantrell is still the active director and hopefully they can have Cantrell help with the transition before she leaves.
