Sumter County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amber Batchelor will be the guest speaker at the South Georgia Technical College Black History Program in the John M. Pope Industrial Technology Center building on the Americus campus at 11 a.m. Thursday, February 24th, 2022, announced South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford.
Local musician Leonard Tyson will perform along with SGTC current Air Conditioning Technology student and former Cosmetology graduate Shannon Jones. SGTC Instructor of the Year Starlyn Sampson will preside over the event and SGTC Goal Winner Zakyah Cameron will provide the occasion. SGTC faculty, staff, students, special guests and community members are scheduled to attend. The public is also invited to attend.
Mrs. Batchelor currently serves as President and CEO of the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce. She considers it an honor to serve as the first African American CEO of the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce, which is over 100 years old. Her goals for herself and the Chamber Board of Directors is to work on internal strategic planning and development to ensure the Chamber serves as the premier go-to regional business resource to provide opportunities and support for the growth and prosperity of local business and industry.
She is a proven civic trustee and advocate for the growth and prosperity of business and industry, pairing organizations with the resources that catapult them to achieve their next great opportunity. She has worked with chambers for over 15 years across the country and led award winning teams of 5-45 people. She has worked with clients and partners such as: Oracle, UPS, Freddie Mac, National Urban League, United Way, Microsoft, Leidos, Bechtel, and more. She has been featured in Bloomberg Magazine, BET, UNCF Evening of Stars, the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Radio Show, IHeart Radio, and other media outlets.
Batchelor resides in Americus with her husband, Rowdy, and their two dogs in a 110-year old house. She is active in Bible ministry and encourages people to humble themselves by using gifts of discernment and wisdom to be kind to each other and to deal with one another out of love not contentiousness.