The Franklin County Chamber of Commerce board of directors unanimously approved the hiring of a new executive director Thursday.
The board voted to hire Russellville resident Cassie Medley to the position. She will begin work on March 26.
Medley replaces Nina McNatt who resigned in January to take a position with the Russellville city schools system.
“I am excited about this opportunity and I really look forward to getting out and meeting people at all of our businesses and learning more about all the great things Franklin County has to offer,” Medley said.
She is a 1991 graduate of Russellville High School and worked at Valley State Bank in Russellville for more than 10 years. She has owned Dixie Catering for eight years.
She believes her experience working large-scale events will be an asset in her new position.
“I am used to working long hours and working to make sure that people are satisfied with what they are getting,” she said.
“Catering requires a lot of planning and organization so those are things I’m used to as well.”
Although she has lived in the area most of her life, Medley said she looks forward to learning even more about Franklin County.
“There are so many little hidden treasures in Franklin County that people need to know about,” she said.
“I want us to enhance our website so that people outside of Franklin County can see what all we have to offer.”
The board accepted 18 applications and interviewed seven candidates for the position.
“We had a very good pool of candidates and several that we felt would do a good job,” said Mike Vaughn, who is serving as the board’s president.
“We believe Cassie will do a great job working with our local businesses and leading the Junior Leadership program. She is someone who will work hard for all of Franklin County.”
Medley and her husband, Jamie, have two children, Sydney who is 10 and eight year-old Nathan.