Chamber president resigns amid award controversy

From Enterprise Staff

The Board of Directors of the Livingston-Polk County Chamber of Commerce accepted the resignation of President/CEO Janet Wiggins Monday following “an exceptionally long and arduous special called meeting” according to an email that went out to all chamber members Tuesday, notifying them of the resignation.

Related Articles

Lady Dogs put kibosh on Lady Owls’ playoff hopes

Eagle tennis competes in Beaumont tourney

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff, I would like to express our appreciation to Janet for her many contributions to the Livingston-Polk County Chamber of Commerce. Please join me in wishing her well with her future endeavors,” the email continued before listing the current board: Chairman Craig Jones, Chair-Elect Andrew Boyce, Treasurer Brandon Wigent, Vice Chair Amber Dominy, Vice Chair Dan Ellis, Vice Chair Krystal Parker, Vice Chair Mandy Wilson, Past Chair John Clifton and Directors Tina Alexander-Sellers, Matt Anderson, Kim Brown, Cheryl Downing, Judy Ebert, Joyce Knierim, Shane Lyons and Kole Puckett.

The brouhaha stemmed from the presentation of the Polk Countian of the Year Award to Lee Hon, Wiggins first cousin, at the culmination of the chamber’s 86^th annual awards banquet. It came as a surprise to many in attendance as the chamber has always had a strict policy of not presenting awards to individuals seeking office during election years. Hon, the Polk County district attorney, is running for 258^th District judge in a contentious race against Incumbent 258^th District Judge Travis Kitchens.