Major leader in Aiken’s business community retires
AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF)- For 50 years, President and CEO of the Aiken Chamber of Commerce, David Jameson, has been dedicated to serving his community and its business owners.
Nearly 25 of those years were spent in Aiken and now Jameson is retiring and passing on the torch.
Leaders in Aiken agree that during David Jameson’s tenure there, he has made a huge impact. For decades he’s been a passionate advocate for local small business and enthusiastically worked to bring larger businesses to the city.
“50 years goes fast. It’s just amazing. And I think if you’re in the right job, then it doesn’t feel like a job,” said Jameson.
When Jameson graduated from college, he was approached by leaders in his small town of Ridgeland, South Carolina with a big project.
“My parents’ next door neighbor came over to me when I was home from school one weekend and said, ‘We’ve got our eye…we’ve had our eye on you for years and we think you’re the right person to start this chamber,'” he explained. “I never meant to move home. I never meant to do this. And all of a sudden, I was on my path.”
It was the beginning of a long career working with economic development groups and chambers of commerce in North and South Carolina. He spent 6 years in Aiken County in the 80’s, starting the Economic Development Partnership before moving on.
Eventually, Jameson moved his family back to the place that felt like home.
“Every place that we lived after Aiken, we measured it against how much we loved Aiken. We loved our neighborhood. We loved our friends. We loved our church. We loved downtown. We loved every part. So we measured everything by Aiken.”
As President and CEO of the Aiken Chamber, Jameson spent nearly two decades working to support the city’s businesses. He helped bring many businesses to the area and proudly attended dozens of ground breakings and ribbon cuttings.
But he said he had the responsibility of looking to the future as well.
“Well, the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative at USC Aiken. We’ve been working on…we’ve been working to advocate for that for 15 years. It’s still a year and a half away from finished construction, but it’s a $66 million project.”
Jameson told NewsChannel 6 that over the years he’s had quite a few challenges, like finding a balance between growth and maintaining Aiken’s small town charm.
He told us that there is one big challenge that has been difficult to overcome.
“Probably the most frustrating thing that we all face in public life right now is social media. So much misinformation, so much disregard for the facts. And it is it is very complicated and very hard to combat every bite of misinformation that’s posted on site,” Jameson said.
Jameson believes he would never have been successful during his half century career without his family’s support, especially his wife’s.
“I couldn’t have done it without her. She stepped aside in her career to push me forward. And she’s the chief of staff at home and kept the family going. When I was out at night at a meeting or when I was out of town recruiting or whatever I was doing.”
The Aiken Chamber recently announced that Jim Tunison would take over as President and CEO after Jameson’s retirement.
Jameson said he’s mentored Tunison for the last 5 years and that he will bring fresh, new ideas to the Aiken Chamber. He has some advice for Tunison.
“My advice is don’t make quick changes, make tweaks, think about things, be patient, and at the same time be anxious.”
Jameson hopes that in his nearly 20 years with the Aiken Chamber he has left a lasting legacy.
“I hope that people see me as positive. Enthusiastic for the community. That I loved what I did. That any any clout or any, let’s say power, that I amassed didn’t go to my head.”
The Aiken Chamber of Commerce will honor Jameson’s many years of service with a reception Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m.
Tunison will take over the role of President and CEO starting March 1.
Photojournalist: Dania Alawir.
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