Butts County Chamber of Commerce director retiring

“Melinda is one of Butts County’s greatest assets,” Chamber Board Chairman Drew Todd said in a statement. “During her time as executive director of the Butts County Chamber of Commerce, membership has grown steadily because of her leadership. In her role as executive director, Melinda has advocated for the businesses and citizens of Butts County, and will undoubtedly continue to be a positive force in retirement in the years to come.”

McLarnon and her husband Michael are co-owners of The Brickery, a restaurant expected to soon open in Jackson.

Over more than two decades at the Chamber of Commerce, she has organized some of the county’s signature annual events, including the nighttime Christmas parade through the downtown Jackson square, the Jackson Alive fall festival and Halloween on Second Street, a trick-or-treating event that draws families to the business center of the county to receive candy from local merchants.

When she joined the Chamber of Commerce in 1996, the organization had 75 members. Over the course of her tenure, membership has grown to a roster of more than 400.

“There have been so many things I am proud of but too many to mention,” McLarnon said. “I am proud of the growth and development that I have seen over the county for the past 22 years and look forward to the future. I am proud to have gotten to know our business community personally and to have been able to help them with their business needs.”

In the statement, the chamber’s board said before advertising the vacancy, it planned to poll members of the chamber and members of the larger Butts County community, soliciting suggestions on how to build on McLarnon’s work and advance the chamber’s objectives.

The chamber’s board will also be deciding whether to make what has traditionally been a part-time position a full-time job with the next executive director, and whether making the change will add services and value to members.

“The thing that impressed me about Melinda as she announced her retirement is that she told me she expected the chamber to continue improving,” said chamber board member Robert “Buddy” Costley, who is also the superintendent of the Butts County School System. “I almost took that as a challenge from her after her 22 years of dedication that it is our board’s responsibility to ensure we take it to the next level because she said our member businesses deserve it. Knowing these board members, I feel confident that the chamber will do just that, and we want to know from the community what kinds of value and services they want us to add to the table.”

According to Todd, the chairman of the chamber’s board of directors, the board hopes to have a replacement hired by mid-summer.