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Chamber names new president
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Change of command Maj. Gen. Kelly takes reins of Ninth Air Force
FROM STAFF REPORTS The Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce board of directors announced Friday through a news release that it has hired Chris Hardy as president and chief executive officer of the Chamber effective this month. Hardy most recently served as president and CEO of the Albany (Georgia) Area Chamber of Commerce. Hardy will replace Grier Blackwelder, who retired at the end of July. While CEO of the Albany Chamber of Commerce, Hardy led a staff of seven full-time employees at the Chamber and eight full- and part-time visitor center employees. He managed an annual budget of $1.75 million while maintaining fiscal responsibility to include the HARDY Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau. In Albany, he created a leadership development division of the Chamber to include the “Leadership Institute” program to focus on the personal and professional development of young business professionals. During Hardy’s leadership, the Dougherty County School System gave the Chamber its community excellence award for the Chamber’s focus on education. Hardy was active in Dougherty County Rotary Club, Boys & Girls Club of Dougherty County, United Way of Southwest Georgia and the Turner Jobs Corps Community Leadership Team. He served on the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission board of directors, Strive 2 Thrive board of directors and was chairman of the Southwest Georgia Chamber Alliance. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Hardy has also served as president and CEO of the Clemson Chamber of Commerce and as vice president of governmental affairs for the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce in Rock Hill. Hardy received the Certified Chamber of Commerce Executive certification in 2013 becoming one of only 250 chamber executives in the United States to hold that designation. He is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management, the premier professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Mitch Williams, chairman of the board
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BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
RICK CARPENTER/THE SUMTER ITEM
Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, left, hands off the Ninth Air Force flag to Maj. Gen. Mark D. Kelly, right, during a change of command ceremony Friday at Shaw Air Force Base. The exchange of the flag symbolizes the official change of command. Kelly takes over responsibility of eight active duty wings and three direct reporting wings in the southeastern U.S. with more than 400 aircraft and 29,000 active duty and civil personnel.
With an impressive array of American air power parked outside the open hanger doors, Maj. Gen. Mark D. Kelly took command of the Ninth Air Force at a ceremony at Shaw Air Force Base on Friday morning. Kelly assumed command from Maj. Gen. H.D. “Jake” Polumbo Jr., who is retiring after 34 years of service in the U.S. Air Force and more than two years in command of the Ninth Air Force. “I look forward to continuing the well-established culture of Ninth Air Force excellence,” Kelly said. He remarked about the aircraft spread before him as he took command, recalling that five weeks ago he was a benefactor of the Ninth’s readiness and effectiveness as units from the Ninth responded to insurgent rocket attacks at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan where he served as commander of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing. “Your airmen do their best work on the combat frontier,” he said. “It is not a sport, but it is all about teamwork.” Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, commander of the Air Combat Command in Langley, Virginia, was presiding officer for the change-ofcommand ceremony and spoke of the importance of the Air Force. “American air power is what makes our enemies tremble and should give all of you pride,” he said. He said Polumbo had been a “phenomenal” leader for the Ninth Air Force. “Most impressive is the example he set for caring for the airmen and their families,” Carlisle said. “He will have a lasting impact.” Carlisle said every American owes Polumbo a debt of gratitude for his career. He said the incoming commander has “big shoes to fill,” but he has no doubts Kelly will do it. “You are an inspirational leader across the spectrum,” he told Kelly. “You always challenge the status quo and seek ways to improve.” Carlisle thanked all of the assembled members of the Air Force. “Your heritage is impressive but it’s easy to forget that every single
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Roof ’s attorneys enter not guilty plea
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, North Carolina, in June. Roof entered not guilty pleas on Friday to the charges facing him for the June 17 fatal shooting of nine black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
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CHARLESTON (AP) — The white man accused of gunning down nine parishioners at a black church in Charleston wants to plead guilty to 33 federal charges, but his lawyer said in court Friday that he couldn’t advise his client to do so until prosecutors say whether they’ll seek the death penalty. During a brief arraignment in federal court, defense attorney David Bruck said that he couldn’t counsel his client, Dylann Roof, to enter a guilty plea without knowing the government’s intentions. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant then entered a not guilty plea for Roof, 21, who faces federal charges including hate crimes, weapons
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charges and obstructing the practice of religion. Appearing in court in a gray striped prison jumpsuit, his hands in shackles, Roof answered yes several times in response to the judge’s questions but otherwise didn’t speak. “Mr. Roof has told us that he wishes to plead guilty,” Bruck said. “Until we know whether the government will be seeking the death penalty, we are not able to advise Mr. Roof.” The federal prosecution, particularly on hate crimes, has been expected since the June 17 shootings at Emanuel African Methodist Church. Early on, officials with the U.S. Department of Justice said they felt the case met the
qualifications for a hate crime, and Roof was indicted by a federal grand jury about a month after the killings. Roof appeared in photos waving Confederate flags and burning and desecrating U.S. flags. Federal authorities have confirmed his use of a personal manuscript in which he decried integration and used racial slurs to refer to blacks. Because South Carolina has no state hate-crimes law, federal charges were needed to adequately address a motive that prosecutors think was unquestionably rooted in racial hate, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said during a news conference
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