Former chamber president headed to Tennessee

ALBANY, Ga. — The former head of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce will likely be announced as the new president of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a press conference today.

Catherine Glover is presently the executive vice president of Global Business Development for Equinox Chemicals, a title she’s expected to shed in order to take the new position in the Nashville, Tenn., area.

While interim president Wayne Scharber wouldn’t confirm or comment when asked about the position, he did say that an official announcement likely would come this morning.

Glover spent three years as head of the Albany chamber, overseeing a customer base that includes 3,000 member companies, most of which are considered small businesses.

When Glover left to take her present job at Equinox in January, she said she looked forward to exploring a new career.

“After 22 years in chamber management, I have the opportunity to explore a new career without leaving the town I love, and working for a company that believes in Albany as much as I do,” Glover told a reporter at the time.

Glover will take over an organization that aims to be the voice of business owners in Tennessee.

“As the single, unified voice of business, the Tennessee Chamber works to enhance the quality of life for all Tennesseans. The Tennessee Chamber leads the way in achieving global competitiveness and ultimately increasing prosperity for its citizens,” its website proclaims.

The only controversy that arose during Glover’s tenure as president of the Albany chamber was her decision to reorganize the Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau, a separate organization that is managed by the chamber.

Those changes resulted in the termination of CVB Manager Lisa Riddle — prompting some in the community to call for a review of the arrangement between the chamber and the visitors bureau — and ultimately led to the resignation of Liz Gray, the CVB’s sales manager and public relations officer.

Under Glover’s leadership, the chamber launched the Strive2Thrive initiative aimed at cutting poverty within the city, and the organization obtained many levels of accreditation and certification.