The new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama believes in public service, and he believes in people. “When people come together for like causes,” Jim Page says, “you really can change the community you live in.” Last Tuesday Rotarians learned a bit more about how Page recently found his way to Tuscaloosa, and his vision for the CCWA. Rotarian Jordan Plaster introduced the Speaker.

After working in a pro-business lobbying firm in Montgomery, Page had settled down to work in Decatur Alabama, working over nine years for the Chamber of Commerce and recruiting retail businesses for the city. He had no plans to leave, but then he got an email advertising an open position for the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. Page knew of what he called “the caliber of the people” in Tuscaloosa and the region, and described the CCWA as a “fine organization.” He sought the position, and soon got the job.

Now firmly established in his new position, Page’s vision for the future centers on two sets of specific set of priorities. The first concerns internal reforms, including a re-alignment of the current staff of eight, and a renewed, strategic approach to the resource and funding challenges the CCWA faces.

A second, more expansive set of priorities centers on external affairs. Above all, Page intends to keep the CCWA focused on tornado recovery. “We intend to do everything in our power,” he said, to help businesses “get what they need” to get going again. Page is realistic about that process, and takes the view that it is “a marathon, not a sprint.”

Other priorities include a renewed emphasis on the Chamber’s role as a civic partner (working with the United Way of West Alabama, for example); an emphasis on public policy and advocacy (Page makes no apologies: the CCWA is a special interest group, and businesses need a voice!); an emphasis on workforce development, and targeted recruitment of retail businesses.