Latest News

Thank you to Career Academies of Decatur (CAD) for hosting our Emerging Leaders event on October 4 and to the culinary students for providing a wonderful lunch. More than 30 Chamber members were able to tour the new the state-of-the-art addition opened by Decatur City Schools in September. It features a cafetorium, classrooms, an engineering…

We appreciate the more than 250 Chamber members who attended our 2023 Legislative Update on October 3 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. We were honored to have Governor Kay Ivey as our keynote speaker. She spoke about Alabama’s progress in the areas of education, economic development and transportation, highlighting our local accomplishments. “The people…

The Excellence in Leadership program is the flagship program of the Chamber’s Leadership series. The program was designed to identify, orient, develop and network existing and emerging leaders with the goal of enhancing positive growth in the area business community. The 2023-2024 class features 38 professionals from across Morgan County and meets monthly for 10…

Longtime area civic and business leader, Irwin C. “Sonny” Craig, Jr., passed on September 24. We pause to remember our beloved community leader and some of his many contributions. Sonny served diligently on the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce board of directors and as the Chairman in 1999-1998. Most recently, he served on the Chamber’s Residential Development Task Team. In…

More than 100 students from Decatur-Morgan County and surrounding schools are enrolled at the Academy of Craft Training. It shares the campus with the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB) on U.S. 31 South in Decatur. The Academy of Craft Training is a public/private partnership between the commercial construction industry and the State…

(News Release) – Governor Kay Ivey announced the implementation of a major tax reform initiative to help Alabama small businesses. Effective October 1, 2023, more than 3,000 Alabama small businesses will no longer be required to pay monthly estimated sales taxes to the state Department of Revenue. “Alabama’s economy is anchored in the stability and…

(News Release) Athens State University is pleased to announce an increase in enrollment numbers for the Fall 2023 semester. With a total of 2,955 students enrolled, the University’s headcount is up 2.1% compared to the Fall 2022 semester. Credit hour production is also up for both undergraduate and graduate courses for an average of 2.2%…

Leadership Coach Carol Beth Durbin with Durbin Leadership, LLC was the featured speaker for our monthly Commodore meeting on September 8. She spoke on leadership and motivation and the group had fun putting her tips into practice by building a paper tower. Congratulations to Philip Wright with The Grisham Group, LLC for being named the Greater…

(News Release) Last month, Governor Kay Ivey kicked off the statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL), and the response from parents and community partners across the state has been overwhelming. Sixty counties are now providing access to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. With the most recent addition of Cherokee, Chambers and Morgan counties, nearly…

On August 31, The City of Decatur held a second public meeting at Ingalls Harbor Pavilion to obtain input and feedback regarding the Tennessee River Bridge Feasibility Study. Residents who attend the meeting were able to look at six possible routes for a new Tennessee River bridge and four possible improvements to the current U.S.…