Loudoun County Chamber President to Head State Association

Tony Howard, president and CEO of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, has been elected to serve as the next president of the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (VACCE).

Howard, who has served as president of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce since 2006, was voted in as head of the statewide leadership and professional development organization for chamber executives at its annual meeting last month at Smith Mountain Lake.

Howard has served on the VACCE Board of Directors for six years, four of them on the executive committee. He also participates in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organization Management.

As president, Howard will preside over board of directors meetings, lead efforts to develop programming and oversee communications and strategic planning and other priority initiatives.

Howard will also represent VACCE on the Virginia Chamber’s Board of Directors.

“I am proud and extremely humbled to serve my Chamber peers and friends as President of VACCE, an organization dedicated to improving the skills of Chamber professionals across Virginia, so they are better equipped to build stronger businesses and stronger communities throughout our great Commonwealth,” Howard said in a statement.

Howard succeeds Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“[Howard's] style of leadership is effective and inspiring. [He] has the credentials and vision to take VACCE to an elevated level of effectiveness during his term as President. The organization is in capable hands and I wish Tony the very best,” Gardner said.