Lexington chamber president Randy Halfacre will retire

Randy Halfacre, president and CEO of the Greater Lexington Chamber and Visitors Center, plans to retire at the end of the year. His public service career includes a seat on the Lexington Town Council and nearly 10 years as Lexington mayor, bookended by more than three decades as a state employee. Halfacre has not ruled out working again, just not right now, he said.

He recently answered questions from The State newspaper.

Q. You have made a decision to retire. What drove your decision and how do you plan to spend your time?

A. I have accomplished, and in most cases, exceeded the goals and objectives the Chamber Board charged me with dating back to my hire in 2007. Secondly, I want to spend much more time with my family and friends, play a little golf, work in the yard and expand the footprint of my vegetable garden, especially “tomato row.”

Q. What role has the Chamber played in Lexington County and what accomplishments have been made during your tenure as Chamber president?

A. Our purpose, as we note in our tagline, is to “ inspire business, enhance community.” That’s what chambers do, or should be doing. Over the past nine years, we have lived up to that vision and have become one of the premier chambers, not only in Lexington County and the Midlands, but statewide. We led the effort on keeping Amazon here, led the effort on establishing the Mid-State Chambers Coalition, realized the long-time goal of relocating our offices to Main Street, achieved the 1,000 membership goal, achieved Carolinas Accredited Chamber status and were instrumental in fostering regionalism between Lexington and Richland counties.

Q. You have been a public servant for a long time. Describe your tenure as Lexington mayor and how the town and its surroundings have changed over that time.

A. Serving both as mayor and chamber CEO created partnerships ... in addition to a tremendous synergy in bringing together the government and business communities.

Many potential conflicts between the two were avoided. The two have different missions, but in the end, both exist to increase the economic prosperity of the community, just in different ways. The Lexington community has seen tremendous growth over the past two decades, but it’s just beginning in many ways. That’s why the council and staff embarked on the town’s vision plan some six years back, so we could plan long range and be better prepared for the “growth tsunami” coming our way.

Q. What's next for Lexington? What's needed to sustain or step up progress in the area as you see it? Also, what is missing in the big scheme of things developmentally and how can that ingredient be addressed by the residents, their government and their civic institutions?

A. We must address and solve our No. 1 issue ... traffic congestion. If we don’t, it will choke off future growth that drives economic prosperity and job creation. It has to be done locally. We cannot expect the state or federal governments to help any longer. Secondly, we must maintain strong community-based public safety programs. It goes to the very heart of “quality of life.” If people are fearful for their safety, they won’t shop, they won’t let their children play outdoors, they will start “cocooning,” which is the beginning of the community’s fabric unraveling.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Lexington chamber president Randy Halfacre will retire."