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By J.R. TIDWELL / Editor

The Chilton County Chamber of Commerce will soon be hosting its first luncheon of 2019.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill will be the guest speaker.

The event will be held at noon on March 12 at Jemison Municipal Complex. The cost will be $12 per person, and anyone planning on attending is asked to RSVP by March 1.

Merrill continues a line of high-profile speakers that have visited the most recent Chamber functions.

“We are excited about having him as our guest speaker,” said Chamber Director Francine Wasden.

According to Merrill’s website, he “…has dedicated his life to public service, from his youth as an Eagle Scout and SGA President at The University of Alabama to his professional career in the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and Tuscaloosa County public schools. A native of Heflin, Ala., he was first elected to public office as a representative of Alabama House District 62 in 2010 with 87 percent of the vote. He was elected as Secretary of State in 2014 with 65 percent of the vote, and he has dramatically enhanced the efficiency of the office through a series of reforms and innovations.

“Since he took office, Alabama has more than one million newly-registered voters, setting new state records for voter registration and participation in elections. He and his wife Cindy, a native of Phil Campbell, Ala., and former public school educator, have two adult children and reside in Tuscaloosa.”

This event will mark the first Chamber luncheon since the one held in early October.

Gov. Kay Ivey was the guest speaker at that event, which was also held in Jemison to help accommodate the large crowd that gathered to hear the governor speak ahead of the most recent election.

The Chamber hosted its annual banquet in January in lieu of a luncheon. Birmingham meteorologist James Spann, another well-known individual across Alabama, spoke that night.

Jemison Municipal Complex is located at 14 Padgett Lane.