Chamber Announces Staff Retirement, Personnel Changes

Chamber Announces Staff Retirement, Personnel Changes

The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama has announced the retirement of Loo Whitfield, Director of Education, effective this October. Whitfield has led the Chamber’s highly successful Adopt-A-School program for the past 10 years. She has also been heavily involved in the development of multiple education-related community programs during her tenure, including the Tuscaloosa Pre-K initiative, the Literacy Council of West Alabama and the Chamber’s Education Policy Council.
The Adopt-A-School program celebrated its 30th anniversary in May and kicked off its 31st year last week. Under Whitfield’s leadership, the program has seen extraordinary growth. More than 100 local companies and organizations are involved in partnerships with all 58 public schools in the Tuscaloosa City and County systems. Partners often provide much-needed financial resources to their respective schools as well as offer a significant investment of personnel to participate in various classroom programs.
Prior to her time with the Chamber, Whitfield retired from the Tuscaloosa City Schools after 28 years as a teacher, coach and athletic director. “Loo has been an invaluable member of the Chamber team and has truly made the Adopt-A-School program a household name in this community”, said Chamber President and CEO Jim Page. “Thousands of Tuscaloosa County students have benefitted from Loo’s energy, enthusiasm and genuine passion for education.”
Page has named Robin Jenkins, the Chamber’s Director of Communications and Marketing, as Whitfield’s successor. Jenkins served as the Assistant Director of Adopt-A-School earlier in her career. Carolyn Tubbs, the Chamber’s Assistant Director of Education and Events, will continue to work closely with the Adopt-A-School program in addition to managing other Chamber initiatives. “Robin’s previous experience with the Adopt-A-School program and excellent communication skills make her an ideal fit for this important position”, stated Page. “Robin and Carolyn are a great team and will ensure that we continue the momentum of our outstanding education programs.”
Allison McCants has joined the Chamber staff as Workforce Development Project Manager. She will provide administrative support to the Region 3 Workforce Development Council and West Alabama Works. McCants will also serve as a central point of contact for any private or public entity seeking assistance with workforce training in the seven-county region, as well as coordinate meetings and activities of numerous industry workforce clusters.
McCants earned a degree from the University of Alabama and has served as an Administrative Assistant for Harrison Construction, Inc. for the past eight years. “Allison brings superb administrative and organizational skills to this position. We are proud to add her to our professional staff and know she will be a tremendous asset to our region’s dynamic workforce development efforts”, said Page.