Martha Kelly is New Executive Director Wayne County Chamber of Commerce

The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce is going through some changes, and with new Executive Director Martha Kelly at the helm, good things are certain to happen.

The first Chamber of Commerce was founded in France in 1599. The first in the United States started in New York in 1768. The United States Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1912 and promotes pro-business issues via lobbying efforts at the national level.

While the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce hasn’t been around for quite that long, it has become a great asset to Wayne County businesses. The primary purpose of a Chamber of Commerce is to promote economic prosperity and quality of life in a community by advocating for local businesses and fostering relationships among them. Each of the previous Chamber directors, with Christine Chapman being the most recent, has improved hospitality in Wayne County while working behind the scenes to promote tourism and successful businesses in ways most of us don’t even realize.

Ms. Martha Kelly was recently selected by the Chamber board as the new Executive Director of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce. Many already know Martha from her prior endeavors. She was a teacher in the Wayne County School System for thirty-three and a half years, starting out as an art teacher, and after obtaining her masters’ degree, transitioning into Special Ed. During her tenure, Martha taught in Waynesboro, Collinwood, and Clifton. Although she has lived in Waynesboro since she began teaching, Martha says she requested to teach in Collinwood and Clifton as well because she wanted to get to know those students, too.

In her pre-retirement years, many will remember that Martha was Manager of the Waynesboro City Pool. The pool was where Martha spent several summers, along with early mornings and late evenings while teaching.

Martha was Director of the Downtown Waynesboro/Main Street Committee for several years as well. The committee worked hand in hand with the Chamber during those years to not only promote tourism in Wayne County, but to enhance and improve the beauty of Waynesboro while hosting events for both locals and tourists.

Martha recently wrote a brief description of her vision for the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and Wayne County in general:

“The Wayne County Chamber fills many shoes for its members. We are an organization of businesses and professional men and women who have joined together for the sole purpose of promoting commercial and civic progress for our community. The Chamber collaborates with various state, local, and nonprofit agencies to bring to our members and our community the economic growth that will allow all of us to grow and prosper.

“The Chamber highly supports all of Wayne County and the tri-city governments’ efforts for community and economic development. As Executive Director, my focus will be to support and promote the local businesses throughout the county, as well as attracting new ones to our area. I am dedicated to building strong relationships with the business community using tools such as marketing, networking, referrals, training opportunities, assistance, advice, etc.

“I am devoted to promoting all forms of tourism for Wayne County. Using the resources of the Chamber, I am committed to creating a destination marketing organization by promoting all local culture, points of interest, and community events where tourists can spend money in our cities and county businesses. By utilizing the Natchez Valley tourism assets of local brochures, social media, magazine ads, videos, and websites, the Chamber will be the support and referral center for all tourist information for Wayne County. I am thrilled to have been given this opportunity to serve my county. I look forward to working with all existing and future Chamber members as the steward to move our county forward into a new chapter of community and economic growth.”

Watch upcoming editions of The Wayne County News for more Chamber of Commerce news.