Today, the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce will announce Jim Hizer from Bowling Green, Ky has its new president and CEO.
Here is his bio from Kentucky Transpark, where Hizer served as President:
Since his arrival in June of 2004, Jim Hizer has transformed the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce into a regional economic development organization that has delivered impressive results for the citizens of the eight-county region that encompasses Greater Bowling Green. By focusing on marketing South Central Kentucky to the rest of the world and by seeking business solutions for existing area employers, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce has positioned South Central Kentucky as the fastest growing metropolitan area in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In addition, in 2004, Jim established a formal working relationship between the Chamber and the Intermodal Transportation Authority (ITA), through which Jim was named president of the ITA, and the management and marketing of the Kentucky Transpark was placed under the Chamber’s administrative umbrella.
Through the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce’s industry retention, expansion and attraction efforts, the South Central Kentucky region has seen the addition of 7,500+ net new jobs since Jim’s arrival in 2004. Jim’s deal-making skills were instrumental in the attraction of companies such as Cannon Automotive Solutions, American Howa Kentucky, Dynastrosi/Wind Energy, EWA, and the Halton Group’s US Headquarters. In all, the Chamber has located 12 new companies in the Bowling Green area since 2004.
Prior to taking the helm of the Bowling Green Area Chamber, Jim served as president of the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, in Richmond, IN. His economic development career has also taken him to Daytona Beach, FL; Logansport, IN; and Frankfort, IN.
Jim received his Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University and is a graduate of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organization Management, Ball State Economic Development Academy, and the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute. He received his Certified Economic Development designation in 1995, and he has received instruction in intermediate Japanese and basic German languages.
Jim lives in Bowling Green with Jane, his wife of 18 years, and their daughter, Millie.