Are Ware County businesses receiving too much exposure from the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce?
Discussion about how the chamber conducts its business was a topic of this month’s Chamber of Commerce board meeting held in an unusually full conference room at the Historic Blackshear Train Depot.
The questions at the heart of the issue seem to be: exactly who can be a member of the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce and how should those businesses and organizations benefit from that membership?
The meeting was one of the most well-attended chamber meeting in some time.
Some in the local business community asked why Ware County businesses are allowed to become members of the Pierce chamber and are able to benefit from events and social media posts under the chamber’s banner.
Mikayla Jernigan, owner of Occasions Formal & Event Wear on Main Street in Blackshear, is one of the newer members of the chamber. Her shop’s official ribbon cutting took place September 24, but Jernigan says she realized something was amiss shortly after joining.
“What I noticed very quickly after becoming a Pierce County Chamber member was multiple businesses from surrounding communities being promoted on social media by the Pierce County Chamber,” says Jernigan. “At times even more than businesses located in Pierce County.”
Jernigan sees the chamber as a resource to make the adventure of establishing and running a small community business “just a little bit easier. However, when businesses outside of Pierce are being promoted by the Pierce County Chamber, I feel that it actually does the opposite.”
As for the future, Jernigan says she would be happy to offer her perspective to any future discussions.
“I love Pierce County and hope to see all of our small businesses prosper with the help of our Pierce County Chamber,” says Jernigan. “I pray that the Chamber board heard my and my fellow business owners’ voices today and will work on a solution to primarily support Pierce County businesses.”
Another chamber member present, Jennifer Jernigan, owner of My Cozy Little Corner, said she felt the concerns she had previously aired earlier this summer were not addressed. “Things did not change, so I grew disengaged and stopped worrying about it,” said J. Jernigan.
Chamber Board President Stephanie Bell did her best to foster an atmosphere of cooperative conciliation, but it soon became apparent much had already been said and discussed among the various factions prior to the issues at hand becoming a matter of public record that day.
Making the issue more thorny was the fact at least one of the Ware-based businesses in question some felt to be benefiting from membership in the Pierce chamber is owned by Stacy Thrift, a representative of Satilla Hospice, a familiar presence at various Pierce-based events—and current vice-president of the chamber Board of Directors.
Thrift’s new boutique, Stacey & Company, recently became a member in August and the Pierce Chamber held a ribbon cutting to commemorate their grand opening.
Stacey & Company is thought to be the subject of a letter sent to the Pierce Chamber by Anne Barksdale, Chairperson of the Board of the Ware County Chamber of Commerce, though the business is never mentioned by name. In it, Barksdale says she wishes the Ware Chamber had been included in conversations about the event and expressed hopes for greater communication and cooperation in the future.
Thrift kept her comments brief and to the point, seeming bemused when a passage in the letter referencing her event conflicting “with a planned chamber event in Ware County” was read aloud.
“They (Ware) did not have a chamber director at that time and I was not a member at that time,” said Thrift. “I scheduled the event for a time that was right for me and my family.”
The lack of a business name, but a specific date being referenced in Barksdale’s letter, more than one local business concerned about Ware businesses offering comparable, competing products or services and a certain strain of protectionism running throughout the discussion, all of it seemed to muddy the waters rather than clearing anything up.
Chamber Director Christi Pitts and her assistant Joe Biagini say only 14 percent of the chamber’s entire membership consists of businesses or organizations from outside Pierce.
“We are not going out to look for Waycross businesses. They are coming to us,” Pitts said.
Whenever these businesses approach the Pierce chamber, Pitts says she always encourages them to join their local chamber as well.
As to how much time and taxpayer money has actually been expended upon Ware-based chamber members, Pitts says approximately 60 to 100 minutes and the cost of a blue ribbon. Door prizes, most often in the form of gift certificates redeemable at the businesses holding the event, are provided by the business itself.
In terms of payroll, Pitts confirms she is a salaried employee of the chamber, making the events she attends a vanishingly small percentage of her time, and Biagini is a volunteer receiving no monetary compensation, seeking only to help out the community that has welcomed him as a new resident.
Pierce County Chairman Neal Bennett began his address to the board with the clarification that he was speaking solely in his capacity as a private citizen. His primary concern was the disparity between Pierce County’s sales tax revenue and that collected by the larger and seemingly more prosperous Ware County, and he came equipped with the numbers to help make his point.
Comparing both counties’ 2025 consumerage populations and collected sales tax revenue, Bennett said, “Ware County collects 59 percent more per person than Pierce County does.”
“Look to your own mission statement, your vision, your mission,” said Bennett. “I urge you to spend your dollars in, and promote Pierce County, by supporting local business.”
The mission and vision statements to which Bennett referred during his address specifically read, “The vision of the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce is to provide for a competitive and business friendly climate for all of Pierce County” and “The mission of the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce is to foster partnerships for the advancement of Pierce County.”
Blake James, speaking in his capacity as director of the IDBA, expressed concern over taxpayer funds being used to benefit Ware County businesses, especially because the service agreement between the IDBA and the Pierce Chamber diverts some IDBA funds to support chamber operations.
Local businessman Zach Lee, winner of the 2025 Better Hometown Business Spotlight Award for his salon Zach and Isabelle’s, said via text his attendance at the meeting was “mainly in solidarity with my fellow business owners” and echoed comments about noting an increase in the promotion of businesses located outside Pierce County.
Lee went on to say he understands businesses and organizations such as Memorial Satilla Hospital and Georgia Power may be chamber members even though they are not based in Pierce. His concerns seem to be more a matter of the size and specialties of the businesses in question.
“As Blake James pointed out during the meeting, these are large entities and corporations that our community uses and supports, and I do not think anyone is suggesting they should be excluded from Chamber membership,” said Lee. “What we are asking for is simply that Pierce County businesses be given priority and that shopping locally remain at the heart of what our Chamber promotes.”
“I also want to be clear that I feel the Chamber has done a good job promoting special events, happenings and other things involving my own business. I appreciate that support,” said Lee. “I would just like to see that same promotional focus reserved for businesses located here in Pierce County.”
At one point during the meeting, Chamber Treasurer Cheryl Williams said, “I don’t think anyone can legitimately say that the chamber does not put Pierce County first.”
The question remains, was anything improper going on?
A copy of the chamber’s by-laws was made available to The Times and, following a review of the document, no provisions against businesses or organizations outside Pierce county becoming members could be found.
Further, to enact such a prohibition in the future, it would require a two-thirds vote by the board of directors, or a majority vote of all members at any regular or special meeting, “provided the notice for the meeting includes the proposals for amendments” and “any proposed amendments or alterations shall be submitted to the board or the members in writing at least 10 days before the meeting at which they are to be acted upon.”
Which also begs the question of how those businesses from outside Pierce County which are already members would be handled. The by-laws state any member can be expelled by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors, but only for “conduct unbecoming a member or prejudicial to the aims or repute of the chamber” and even then, only after the members to be expelled are notified and the opportunity for a hearing on the matter is afforded to them.
None of the issues brought up were resolved during the meeting, though discussion going forward is to develop a comprehensive social media policy and continue to build a consensus on how to address member concerns.
“This is multi-layered and it will take more than just one meeting to resolve,” says Biagini.
As for the social media posts, which could soon be regulated by a new chamber policy, Pitts says, “Those took as long to do as it takes to click a button. Whenever a member tags the chamber in a post, I share the post. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t tag us, I don’t see it. I don’t spend all my time scanning social media. There is too much else to do.”
Pitts also says the process of forming a discussion group to resolve the various issues brought to light at the board meeting has already begun. Emails have been sent to those who brought their grievances forward at the meeting and to other chamber members.
As of press time, Pitts says they are still waiting on responses to their email. A survey for chamber members and Pierce citizens in general is also in the works to assess public perception of the organization and its mission.
“In the end, growth and positive change will come from this,” says Pitts. “I am excited and happy about that. I have a heart for Pierce County and always will.”
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