Wells steps down as chamber of commerce director

Tommy Wells was taking down Fourth of July decorations downtown on July 11 as he talked of his decision to resign as chamber of commerce executive director, effective Aug. 1. He submitted his resignation late last month. His reason was very close to home.

"My oldest son was in a car wreck about three years ago, left him paralyzed," he said, adding that, back in Texas, his son has been dealing with subsequent medical issues which have lately worsened and necessitated his being hospitalized for at least the next two months.

"It's nothing to do with the chamber. I love the people. I love the job. I think it's a blast, but family's got to come first," he said.

Wells felt he was able to accomplish some goals for the chamber during his brief tenure since his arrival last December. "I think it went fairly well," he said. "There's always going to be some things you wish you could improve on, but ... I thought we put on a very nice Fourth of July, fairly smooth."

"I think there's things I could have done better," he said. "But overall, I'm pretty happy with (my accomplishments). I'm just glad that the board gave me a chance to do it, and I wish it had been longer but sometimes you don't really have a choice in that."

Wells will now return to his first passion, managing the two newspapers he owns in Oklahoma, and is in the process of acquiring another newspaper in St. Kitts in the Caribbean. "When I get tired of the dirt, I can go see the water," he said.

The chamber of commerce board of directors met Friday, July 12, to start work toward finding a replacement director. They will post the job opening on Facebook and the chamber website.

"It will be open until filled," said Bill Burr, chamber board president. "Once we have applications within a reasonable amount of time, we will move forward."