Following Joey Orr’s final day as a member of the Cullman City Board of Education on June 30, she will step into the position of President of the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce.

Orr said she had been eyeing the position for several years and found herself often times inspired by the actions of past leaders, but never found an opportune time to consider applying for the position when it had been previously vacant. However, circumstances changed when former interim president, Keith Varden, announced his resignation in January.

“What I’ve watched the leaders in that position do over the last several years, I really felt were right up my alley and were things I really thought I could be good at, but there was never a time where I could dedicate the time that the position needs. Now, two are gone (children) and I’ve only got one left at home — so when it came open this time I thought, ‘Okay, this is it’,” Orr said.

Before announcing her resignation from the school board, Orr spoke with the board’s attorney, who said there shouldn’t be any legal requirement which would cause her to step down. But, Orr felt it was the right decision for her to best serve the chamber member network throughout Cullman County.

Orr said she is aiming to create a greater chamber presence in the county’s other municipalities, rather than focusing her sights exclusively inside the city of Cullman.

“I feel like to be chamber area president, I didn’t need to have any kind of vested interest in Cullman City. It needed to be the Cullman area,” she said.

Another reason Orr hadn’t considered applying for the position before now, was lack of experience in the world of business and industry. While she has worked as a sales associate for If the Shoe Fits, her background is primarily focused in education and ministry work. She holds a masters degree in school administration and she has been working as the director of Children’s and Family Ministry for Grace Chapel. After learning more about what the position entails, Orr believes those experiences are exactly what has prepared her to lead the chamber.

“I think that is what was holding me back a little bit, because I thought I needed a business degree. After looking into more, I don’t think that’s what this job is. My job is to support, endorse and be a champion for our industries, our nonprofits, political groups and all the chamber members. My job is to give them opportunities to showcase themselves and to promote them in the community. It’s a people person job and I think that’s what I’ve been doing in my working life already,” Orr said.

Moving forward, Orr is hoping to create more networking opportunities across the county, which she believes is one of the most fundamental aspects of growing small businesses.

“Just trying to find ways those new baby businesses can network with people is a big part of getting the word out. So much of everything now is word of mouth. Right now they have the monthly luncheons which allows anybody who is a chamber member to come and pass their business cards out and get to know people and highlight what they do with all kinds of people. It just opens your eyes to what we have in Cullman,” Orr said.