2025 Annual Meeting Honors Award Recipients
On March 26, the Chamber held our 2025 Annual Meeting at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, celebrating our 94th year. Outgoing Chairman John Holley, Dean for Technologies at Calhoun Community College, passed the gavel to Chair-elect Kelli Powers, President of Decatur Morgan Hospital. This transition marks the beginning of our new fiscal year, where the incoming Executive Committee and Board of Directors will officially assume their roles, effective April 1, 2025. You can view our Annual Report here.
This year, we were honored to welcome Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO of Innovate Alabama, as our guest speaker. She joined John Joseph, Executive Director of the Decatur-Morgan County Entrepreneurial Center for an insightful conversation on innovation, economic growth and key initiatives led by Innovate Alabama.
During the event, Frances D. Tate was presented the 2025 Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce’s Miss Athelyne C. Banks Citizen of the Year presented by award sponsor Redstone Federal Credit Union. A proud Decatur native, Frances Tate grew up in Old Town and graduated from Lakeside High School before earning degrees from Tuskegee Institute and Athens State University. She worked in the telecommunications industry for over 35 years and, after retiring, she worked for independent telephone companies across the country. During her travels, she was inspired by how communities preserved their heritage, igniting her passion to return to Decatur to honor and restore the history of Old Town.
Frances founded CEOTA—Celebrating Early Old Town with Art—a project dedicated to commemorating the neighborhood’s rich legacy through research, storytelling and art. Her work includes locating and recreating images of buildings lost during the 1970s Urban Renewal Redevelopment efforts. She incorporates water from the Tennessee River into her paintings to capture the churches, businesses and homes that once defined this historic neighborhood.
Beyond her art, her influence extends to the development of the Decatur Scottsboro Boys Civil Rights Museum, a multi-million-dollar CEOTA project dedicated to education and remembrance. A key part of this vision is the preservation of two historic homes tied to the Scottsboro Boys trials: the home of Ruby Bates, one of the original accusers, and the former home of Judge James Horton, who presided over the Decatur retrials and ultimately overturned a wrongful death penalty verdict. After a painstaking relocation process in 2023, the Horton home was moved from Limestone County to Old Town Decatur, where it will become a legal learning center.
In addition to her work with CEOTA, Frances serves on the Decatur Planning Commission and was instrumental in the adoption of the One Decatur Plan.
Jason Palmer was recognized as the 2025 Rosie Hennessy Commodore of the Year, presented by award sponsor Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County. He serves as this year’s Commodore Admiral. A Decatur native, he graduated from Austin High School in 1994 and earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Auburn University in 1999. He is a State Farm Insurance agent and owner of the Jason Palmer Agency.
Jason is involved in the community, serving as the District 5 Representative on the Decatur City School Board, a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Board Member, a Decatur Morgan Hospital Board Member and an active member of the Decatur Lions Club.
Jason and his wife, Misti, were middle school and high school sweethearts before marrying in 2001. They have three children, Gage, Easton, and Emery, as well as a golden doodle named Larry and a bunny named Bob. Their family stays active with the kids' sports and extracurricular activities. One of his proudest achievements was winning the first-ever Fear Factor Couples Episode with Misti, which aired in 2002.
Thank you to our presenting sponsor Indorama Ventures, gold sponsor Calhoun Community College, Huntsville International Airport and Jackson Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, Electrical & Septic Services and silver sponsors Ascend Performance Materials, Bank Independent and Pryor Field Airport Authority.