Chamber CEO Tapped To Study COVID-19 Economic Recovery

The president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama was selected this week by a national industry organization to study COVID-19 economic recovery and resilience strategies with other leaders as part of a prestigious fellowship. Jim Page, who has served in his current role at The Chamber since 2012, was chosen by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) to study the issues with 41 other chamber of commerce professionals from communities throughout the United States as part of The Fellowship for Economic Recovery.

The fellowship program is described by the ACCE as "an immersive executive development program that provides chamber of commerce professionals with education and tools to improve the post-COVID-19 pandemic outcomes in the communities they serve."

Page told Patch Monday that economic and community developers have to be prepared to lead in addressing the variety of issues that a post-COVID-19 economy will present.

"I look forward to learning from my peers in the chamber industry and subject matter experts from across the country to help this area be as proactive as possible on the other side of this pandemic," he said.

Bobby Bragg, who serves as chairman of the Chamber's Board of Directors, commended Page on the fellowship and pointed to his local expertise as a strength he will bring to the initiative. This includes Page's handling of the deadly and devastating tornado that struck Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2011.

“He has been instrumental in two different economic recovery and resilience efforts here: post-tornado and our current COVID crisis," Bragg said. "It is a feather in the cap for our entire organization that Jim has been identified to work and share as one the country’s top chamber executives. I have no doubt that he will bring home economic best practices to better our community as well as highlight some of our area’s successes with his fellow executives. This is another example of our Chamber investing time and effort in proactive initiatives to raise our game to the next level for the betterment of this region.”

The Chamber in a press release on Monday said the year-long fellowship will see participants focus on addressing different aspects of economic recovery from education and talent to economic development to entrepreneurship, with the curriculum centered on
strategies for building more equitable economic outcomes and creating economies that work for everyone.

ACCE says the Fellowship for Economic Recovery is designed to help chambers refine their economic recovery goals and ultimately help the business associations nationwide build replicable programs and processes. Leaders selected to participate in the Fellowship represent urban and rural communities from 24 states.