Board of Directors

SPRINGTIME 2025

I am grateful and humbled to serve as your board chair during this very special Chamber year, which is the 125^th anniversary of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce. Tyler is blessed to have one of the oldest, largest, and most vibrant Chambers in the nation. I recently had the pleasure of being a small part of the 66^th annual Azalea Trail and Spring Flower Show opening ceremony at the beautiful Pyron garden on Dobbs Street. The azaleas and other varieties of flowers were absolutely gorgeous! As I told the group at the opening, I love Spring, and for me, it is a reminder that just like the flowers, God refreshes our lives after we have been through dark winters, and I am eternally thankful for Him and His refreshment. I am also appreciative of the effort that the citizens that live on the Trail take to assure their yards are in tip top shape, as folks from all over come to see the beauty Tyler has to offer.

The annual opening of the Trail is the start to a busy spring season here. The Tyler Area Chamber recently hosted another annual sold-out Energy Summit on March 25^th and continued its tradition of attracting quality presenters with a variety of interesting and relevant topics related to the oil, gas, and energy industry. If you haven’t attended this event in the past, I encourage you to mark your calendar now for next years’ event, and I promise you won’t be disappointed. Many thanks to the Energy Committee for making this another successful event.

As we look forward to additional upcoming events, please join us on April 8^th at the Green Acres Conference for the annual State of the County luncheon with County Judge Neil Franklin, where he will provide timely and informative updates on Smith County and projects the county is working on such as the continuing road and bridge improvements, and the new county courthouse.

The next event to mark your calendar for is our annual Tyler Tourism Awards luncheon on April 29th, which recognizes and celebrates the outstanding work of local businesses, organizations and individuals that are key to Tyler’s tourism success.

Following the Tourism Awards luncheon is our annual State of the City luncheon on May 22^nd at the W.T. Brookshire Conference Center where Mayor Don Warren will provide an update of what is going on with the city of Tyler, in his usual informative and entertaining fashion.

Also in May, don’t forget to attend our regular Chamber events that you receive as a benefit for your Chamber membership; the Power Networking Breakfast on May 7^th, monthly After Hours events on April 24^th and May 22^nd, and Veterans Boot Camp on April 26th. Full details of all these events are available on the Chamber’s website at www.tylertexas.com.

This year is also a Chamber membership drive year, which starts June 9^th. This fun and exciting event is an opportunity for you to join the Tyler Chamber, or, help recruit new businesses and individuals to join, and support the great work the Chamber and its sister organization, the Tyler Economic Development Council, do to enhance the business environment, economic wellbeing and quality of life in the Tyler area for all of our fellow citizens.

You’ve heard this from me before; being a member of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce is like a buffet – you can have as much or as little as you want. YOU determine the value of your membership by your level of involvement. I hope you will take full advantage of all the Chamber opportunities available.

We are blessed to call Tyler our home, and I look forward to seeing you at all of these upcoming events.

James Sheridan  |  2025 Board Chair