Many Gwinnett Chamber board presidents get it easy during their year leading the Board of Directors.
They may serve during a year when the chamber is taking on a major initiative or a leadership change, but, in the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing overly daunting.
Tammy Shumate, on the other hand, got to be board president in 2020, a.k.a the year a global pandemic hit and shut everything down. While that might sound like a tough time to be the board’s president, Shumate said it was a good experience in retrospect.
“That was a great job,” she said. “I learned a whole lot in a short span, and I’ve been on the chamber board for a very, very long time so I think, until you’re put into that position, it’s kind of like drinking from a fire hydrant.
“I definitely learned a lot from it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially with COVID, it made it totally different. We had to learn how to be broadcasters for a short time with Zoom.”
Tammy Shumate — who is the director of corporate development at her husband, Greg’s, company, Capital City Home Loans LLC — was feted at the Gwinnett Chamber’s 75th Annual Dinner at the Gas South District on Friday night as she was named the chamber’s Citizen of the Year.
“It’s incredibly humbling,” Shumate said. “There’s so many people in Gwinnett and it’s so unique. We’ve got offices in 10 different states and I always feel like the Gwinnett Chamber and the Gwinnett community is so much different because we work so well together.”
She strode up to the stage to accept her award while Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” played over the sound system. She picked the song out herself.
“I just want to say, ‘Thank You’ so much for this,” Shumate told the audience. “I’ve always believed it’s our civic duty to give back to the community where we were born, raised and has given us so much …
“Nothing happens…
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