History of the Chamber

The Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce was formed in July 2001 through a merger of the former Danville Area Chamber of Commerce and Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce. 

Merger discussions began in May 2000 after the two Chambers had sponsored joint programs for a number of years and shared a similar membership base.  In May 2001, the membership of the two Chambers overwhelmingly voted to merge.  July 1, 2001 saw the birth of the new Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce with Gene Hayes and Linda Rhue as the first co-chairs. 

The new board was identified and included Charlie Bowman (Coca-Cola Bottling), Bob Childress (Danville Register & Bee), Tim Clark (Blair Construction), Gil Collins (Danville Regional Medical Center), Pat Daly (Daly Seven), Mike Dance (American National Bank & Trust), Dan Harrison (Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.), Gene Hayes (Moses, Hayes & Willeford Insurance), Mark Holland (Clement &Wheatley), Will Isemann (Danville Regional Medical Center), Denise Laussade (Dan River Inc.), Don Nodtvedt (Nestle), Kelvin Perry (First State Bank), Jerry Price (Sartomer Company), Linda Rhue (Edward Jones Investments), Everlena Ross (Pittsylvania County Community Action), Michael Tentnowski (Dan River Business Development Center), Martha Walker (Danville Community College), Mary Wertz (American National Bank & Trust), Ed White (Danville Community College), and Lorraine Womack (PIP Printing).

As part of the merger agreement, the memberships of the two former Chambers voted to locate the main office in Blairs with a branch office in Danville and potential future satellite offices in northern Pittsylvania County.   On August 24, 2004, the Chamber held a ground breaking ceremony for this new building to be located at 8653 US Highway 29 in Blairs.  The staff moved into the new office in April 2005.

In fulfillment of the merger agreement, the Chamber has maintained a branch office at 635 Main Street in Danville since the new office was built.  In addition, in August 2006 the Chamber opened a satellite office at 101 Center Street in Gretna.

The quest to continually promote the business and general interests of Danville was the prime directive of the Danville Chamber of Commerce when it was founded in 1894 as the Commercial Association, Inc.  In 1897, the Business Men’s Association, a similar organization, was founded to “promote the business interests of Danville.”  Whether known as the Commercial Association, the Business Men’s Association, or the Danville Chamber of Commerce since 1915, the organization remained an independent, private, non-profit organization run by the membership through an elected Board of Directors.

Formed by the consolidation of the former Chatham Chamber of Commerce and Gretna Chamber of Commerce in 1981, the Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce worked diligently to promote the interests of businesses and the community in the county.  Until 1989, the Chamber’s offices and staff also provided the support for the Pittsylvania Economic Development Organization.  At that time, both organizations had experienced significant growth which dictated their need for separate offices and staff.  During its 20 year history, the county Chamber grew from 85 members to approximately 400 members.