THOMASVILLE — Two men who previously headed the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce credit local leadership with the community’s business sector success.

Lloyd Eckberg and Don Sims spoke Thursday on the occasion of the chamber’s 100-year anniversary.

“In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, we started going high tech,” said Eckberg, who took the chamber’s reins as executive director in 1963. “The ‘70s and ‘80s were the heyday of the chamber.”

Eckberg described as “wonderful” work the chamber accomplished with cooperation from Thomasville and Thomas County governments.

The former chamber executive director said an industrial park established was quickly filled by Don Sims, who became chamber chief after Eckberg’s retirement in 1989.

“The chamber has been a critical part of the community and supportive of the community,” Sims said.

The chamber, he explained, continued strategies to improve the community.

“All chambers like superlatives, and Thomasville seeks to be superlative in all areas possible and always sought improvements,” said Sims, who retired in 2013.

He said his chamber job was primarily economic development.

While Sims was at the chamber helm, the Joint Development Authority was formed. Thomas, Mitchell, Grady, Colquitt and Brooks counties were authority participants.

The five counties had a total population of 150,000. Sims said 28% of the population number resided in Thomas, which had 40 percent of the jobs and 50 percent of the retail business.

“Workers came to work at our industries from all five counties,” he said.

Instead of executive director, Sims’ chamber title was president.

People from some foreign countries looking at Thomas County as a prospective industrial site did not want to talk to anyone but the president, Sims said.