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Sumter County Chamber of Commerce Steering Committee took the first steps in making a
countywide chamber a reality Monday, April 21.
Eleven interested Sumter County business owners, managers, employees and residents met to
form the beginning of the Sumter Chamber at the private dining hall on the campus of the
University of West Alabama (UWA).
Former Livingston Chamber Steering Committee Chairman and newly elected co-chairman of the
Sumter Chamber, Tommy McGraw began the meeting stating, “Now there is an even more
urgency in forming a county chamber because of the newly announce $450 million United States
(US) Steel facility project at Port Epes.
“We’re potentially going to have 250 construction workers coming to the area looking for places
to live, eat, buy groceries, and entertainment. An up and running chamber would be the logical
place for new comers to an area to look for that kind of information. In addition to that, once the
first phase of the mill is built, it will employ approximately 75 people many of which, may be new to
the area.”
US Steel announced Friday, April 18 in Montgomery the company will commit to build a $450
million dollar, cutting edge technology plant in Sumter County. The first phase will bring in 250
construction workers and employ up to 75 people once the plant is built. Three other phases are
scheduled to be built, which will employ more workers at each stage. The company will hire
approximately 235 employees once the four stages are complete. (See related story in this
edition)
Volunteer Steering Committee member Jane Hurt, backed up McGraw’s analysis of the chamber
being an important tool to grow business and provide information about the local businesses to
the new comers. Hurt gave an example of her experience when working for a Hospice Company
prior to her current job with McElroy Truck Line in Cuba.
“When I went into a town, the first place I would go for information was to the local chamber of
commerce. They provided me with everything I asked for about that particular area. They are an
invaluable service to their local businesses and community.”
McGraw emphasized several aspects of the chamber that needed to be put in place immediately,
but it was going to take some time to make the right decisions and gather information to go
forward.
Committees were formed to produce a “purpose statement,” a key element in forming the by-laws
that was also put to a committee, headed up by York and Livingston Banker Jimmy Collins. The
statement of purpose and by-laws were to be ready for adoption at the next scheduled meeting
on Thursday, May 22.
Other committees formed included a finance committee headed up by Mike Davis, general
manager of Chemical Waste Management.
Davis and Associate Neldra Spencer will formulate a letter to mail out to larger businesses asking
for seed money for the Sumter Chamber.
Newly elected Chamber Steering Committee Secretary Allison Tucker, employed at West Alabama
Bank, volunteered to facilitate the incorporation process and work on implementing the steps in
proceeding along those lines becoming a non profit organization.
The committee elected Allison Derby, president of Bank of York Steering Committee Treasure.
Chamber member “dues” were a topic that will be handled by the Development committee, which
will arrive at, suggested dues to charge for chamber members.
McGraw pointed out the chamber needed to establish a presence acquiring a United States Post
Office Box, a contact phone number and email address in order to receive information and help
from the other Chambers of Commerce across the state as Ralph Stacy suggested. Stacy was in
Livingston three times and York once to answer questions about the chamber and how to go
about forming one. He is the president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Association of
Alabama.
A Developmental Committee was formed to identify the potential chamber members and is being
handled by Ann Torma, York resident; Rhonda Walters, employed at Manning Wood Floors in
Epes and Vanessa Patton, Sumter County Department of Human Resources (DHR) Director.
Patton was not present Monday, but volunteered her time to help any committees that were
formed. She was on the Livingston Chamber Steering Committee.
Torma asked that any businesses or interested residents to contact her to add them to the
current list if they had not received any correspondence to date from the York or Livingston
Chamber steering committees. The Sumter County Chamber of Commerce's email address is
“sumterchamber@yahoo.com.”
You may call Tommy McGraw at the Sumter County Record-Journal to add your name to the list
also. The number is 205-652-6100.
McGraw volunteered to establish a temporary chamber website linked through the Sumter County
Record-Journal’s website. “This will give the Sumter Chamber of Commerce visibility worldwide
instantly,” McGraw stated. The chamber website is expected to be and running in a few days.
Volunteer steering member Joe Moore with State Farm Insurance stated that the chamber
needed to show some progress and quickly. “I’ve heard some negative comments about the
county-wide chamber verses the city chamber. We need to show that we are moving ahead and
making progress.” Moore suggested meeting earlier than the May 22 date.
Moore said he also had reservations about the countywide chamber until he learned about the
cost of implementing the chamber, as it should be. “There is no way York or Livingston can go it
alone. It has got be a united county-wide effort.”
Discussions of contracting with the county and city governments for services was mention and
Sanquenetta Thompson, Assistant Director for Regional Center for Community & Economic
Development at UWA who helped host the meeting, said she would provide a template for the
steering committee to look at the next meeting.
McGraw said the chamber would not survive on member’s dues alone. “We need the help of the
county and city governments with the funding. The way we can ask for the funds is to contract
with the different entities and provide them with a service of industrial development, seeking
industry and businesses for the county and cities and providing informational brochures.
“There are five industrial boards in the county and not one has a person hired to go after and try
and lure industry and jobs into our county. The Sumter County Chamber of Commerce Executive
Director can provide that service in addition to taking care of the needs of the existing industry
and businesses that make up or commercial district.”
Volunteer Sumter County Chamber of Commerce Steering Committee members present were,
Rhonda Walters, Jane Hurt, Neldra Spencer, Doris Stephens, Allison Derby, Jimmy Collins, Joe
Moore, Allison Tucker, Mike Davis, Tommy McGraw and Ann Torma.