Andrea Owensby, president of the Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce, has resigned from her position.

“It has been a pleasure working with the entire team and the Hartselle community over the past year,” Owensby wrote in her letter of resignation to the board. “I believe the organization has come very far and (I) have no doubt that, under your leadership, it will continue to grow. This decision wasn’t an easy one and involved much consideration and prayer. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with each of you and hope that we can continue to do so in the future.”

Grant McKelvey, chairman of the board of the HACC, said Owensby, who joined the chamber July 1, 2018, was the right person for the job and has grown the chamber during her tenure.

“She has worked very diligently to implement a lot of beneficial additions and programs to our chamber,” McKelvey said. “We’ve increased our membership around 30 percent and we’ve increased our revenue by around the same. She’s leaving for an opportunity that we could not compete with.”

Owensby accepted the position as the Director of Hospitality at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. She will begin her new position July 1.

McKelvey said he and his fellow board members will work diligently to find a suitable replacement.”We will work hard to find the right person but it is not a race to find someone,” he said. “We will make sure to cross our Ts and dot our Is before (making a decision.)”

The chamber’s 10th annual Cotton Pickin’ BBQ Cook-off will be held July 26-27 and McKelvey added the chamber still plans on hosting a successful event for the competitors and the community.