NORFOLK, VA — The 2012 volunteer leadership of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce took office during the Chamber’s Annual Meeting of the Membership held on December 8 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.  The Chamber thanks these volunteers for their commitment to serve.  

The following individuals have been elected as the Chamber’s 2012 officers: 

Chair

Maurice A. Jones is President of Pilot Media, the largest print and digital organization in Hampton Roads.  Pilot Media’s businesses include The Virginian-Pilot, Pilot Interactive and Targeted Publications + Media.  Maurice has served as President and Publisher of The Virginian-Pilot since 2008.  Maurice joined Landmark Media Enterprises, owner of Pilot Media, in 2005, serving as Vice President of the Landmark Publishing Group.  In 2006, Jones joined Pilot Media as Vice President and General Manager.  Maurice has served the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce as Vice Chair of both the Marketing & Communications Committee and Membership Committee and in 2011 served as Chair-Elect. 

Chair-Elect

Deborah K. Stearns, CPM, SIOR, is Senior Vice President at Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate.  Deborah’s experience includes office property sales and leasing, commercial development, mergers and acquisitions, and operational management. Stearns is focused on brokerage and business development. Stearns is active in the community and serves on the Board of several State and regional organizations, including the Hampton Roads Partnership and the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance. In 2011, she served as the Chamber’s Treasurer.

Treasurer

Michael M. Dudley is the President and CEO of Optima Health Plan and a Senior Vice President of Sentara Healthcare. Optima Health Plan is the health plan division of Sentara Healthcare. Serving 435,000 members in Virginia, Optima Health Plan provider network consists of nearly 22,000 physicians and 80 hospitals. Prior to joining Sentara in 1996, Mr. Dudley served as President of Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company, President of the Northeast Region of Kaiser Permanente in Hartford Connecticut, and President of Kaiser’s Vallejo Medical Center in California. He completed Stanford University’s executive    management program and is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives. Mr. Dudley serves as a Director on the Boards of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) – the nation’s principal association of health plans and insurance companies, the Virginia Association of Health Plans. He has served the Hampton Roads Chamber as Vice Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Resources Campaign.

 Also serving as members of the 2012 Executive Committee:

Immediate Past Chair

H. Nelson Adcock, Jr.

GeoEnvironmental Resources, Inc.

President and CEO

Jack Hornbeck, CCE

Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce

Vice Chair, Governmental Affairs

Susan Blackman

Willcox & Savage, PC

Chair, Hampton Roads Business PAC

W. S. Miller, III

KITCO Fiber Optics

Vice Chair, Leadership Programs

Jeffrey Ainslie

Ainslie Group

Vice Chair, Membership & Communications

Shepelle Watkins-White

ShepelleWatkinsWhite Consulting and Law, PLLC

Vice Chair, Small Business

Jeff Richardson

Beach Commercial Finance       

Vice Chair, Sports

 C. Grigsby Scifres, Esq.

Willams Mullen

Co-Chair, Sustainable Resources Campaign

Susan Archer

Old Dominion Steel & Container Co. Inc.

Co-Chair, Sustainable Resources Campaign

John W. Wilson

WBR Insurance Agency LLC

Chair, Sync757

Jason Kuller

Signs By Tomorrow-Chesapeake

Vice Chair, At Large

 Deborah Butler

Norfolk Southern Corp. 

Vice Chair, At Large

David Durham

StellarOne Bank

Vice Chair, At Large

Joseph Witt

Old Point National Bank                                     

Chair, Chesapeake Division

Patrick Reynolds

Ashby Development, LLC 

Chair, Norfolk Division

Michael Fowler

Merrill Lynch

Chair, Portsmouth Division

Jennifer Smith

Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System

Chair, Suffolk Division

Brian Williams

The Hilton Garden Inn & Suffolk Conference Center

Chair, Virginia Beach Division

Tuck Bowie

The Terry/Peterson Companies

General Counsel

Hugh L. Patterson, Esq.

Willcox & Savage, PC

Individuals elected to serve as new members of the Chamber’s Regional Board of Directors beginning in December 2011:

Dr. Anthony Atwater, Norfolk State University

Bill Bell, Newport News Shipbuilding

Clyde Clark, Wells Fargo

Clint Damuth, Damuth Trane

Jodi Gidley, Virginia Natural Gas, Inc.

Frederick Napolitano, II, Napolitano Homes

Judith Swystun, Hampton Roads Transportation

Thomas Winborne, Clark Nexsen, Architecture & Engineering

 About the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce (www.HamptonRoadsChamber.com)

The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce is a vigorous advocate for the economic success of its nearly 2,000 member businesses, which employ 280,000 men and women in southeastern Virginia.  The Chamber promotes Hampton Roads’ healthy business climate through economic development, public policy initiatives, services and benefits to members.  The Chamber is dedicated to creating economic opportunity and enhancing the quality of life in Hampton Roads.

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