By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Announced Tuesday morning, Ruston-Lincoln Chamber CEO/President Will Dearmon will be leaving his current role effective Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, to become Louisiana Tech’s Chief Development Officer, a role that will allow Dearmon to bring his past experience and success working with the private sector in this area fully to the university.
According to a release sent out by Louisiana Tech, Dearmon will be in charge of overseeing the University’s development operations, leading strategic and comprehensive fundraising initiatives to ensure the growth and sustainability of the Foundation.
Dearmon expressed his gratitude to both Louisiana Tech President Jim Henderson and Dr. Dave Norris, both of whom he will be working closely with in his new role.
“Obviously, I’m incredibly excited,” Dearmon said. “I’m not just excited about the opportunity to return to Louisiana Tech in a new role, but I’m also excited to be a part of this new chapter in my alma mater’s history. There’s obviously been a great deal of change in the last 11 months at Louisiana Tech, and that has excited both the university as well as community partners.
“Louisiana Tech is one of our largest economic drivers in our city, in our community and in the region, so this is an opportunity to join that leadership team led by President Henderson and Dr. Norris to bring a unique insight and a particular perspective from both an alumnus and also as a community partner. I’m eager to bring those insights to that team and do my part in support of the institution’s future.”
During Dearmon’s time at the helm of Ruston-Lincoln Chamber, he and the board of directors launched a Workforce Development Grant Initiative, along with two executive speaker series, and a three-year strategic impact plan to guide the organization’s work into the future. Dearmon also spoke about how pleased he was with other projects such as the Capitol Chats speaker series among a host of other initiatives he oversaw — and of course, his thankfulness for all the businesses, chamber employees and board members he worked with over the years.
“I can’t say enough about this business community,” Dearmon said. “I am asked every single week in Ruston, in North Louisiana, in Baton Rouge– anytime I travel on official chamber business, someone is trying to be in my ear about how special the Ruston-Lincoln business community is. And obviously that’s in large part to our community partners and our economic drivers. But it’s also a reflection of how supportive and how connected and how entrepreneurial this community is.
“I’m proud of my role as president and CEO of the Chamber, but I’m so proud of our board and our investors that got behind that initiative and made it successful. And I was just incredibly blessed to be here with the staff, with the board, and community partners to be a part of helping bring that progress to reality. So I’m incredibly proud of that.”
Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker recounted what Dearmon has done since taking over the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber in March of 2022 and also noted the importance of having the right person to take the job next.
“He’s done an incredible job of building on what was there,” Walker said. “I think they now have more than 480 members, which to my knowledge is the biggest we’ve ever had. So he’s done a great job of reaching out and getting more members, and he does a really good job of communicating.
“It’s incredibly important (to have the right person). Businesses that are looking to move here go directly to the Chamber of Commerce first. It’s so important they have the same messaging that we have, and we have the same message they have when people reach out.”
Ruston-Lincoln Chamber Board Chair Thomas Graham shared his appreciation for Dearmon how the chamber has grown under his leadership.
“On behalf of the board of directors I want to express our sincere appreciation for Will’s exceptional contributions to the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber,” Graham said. “His strategic leadership has been instrumental in the Chamber’s remarkable growth over the past few years. Will’s vision not only resulted in a successful rebranding and new mission, but also led to the launch of several impactful initiatives.”
Effective Dec. 15, 2024, Elizabeth Turnley, former chairwoman will be named interim president to help with a smooth transition process while searching for Dearmon’s replacement.
The Ruston-Lincoln Chamber Executive Board will soon begin discussions on the next steps in the hiring process with a “best-case scenario” goal of having an announcement of the new hire at their annual banquet in February.
“We are excited to begin the search for a new CEO, confident we will find a leader who will build on this strong foundation and further enhance our commitment to serving our members and the business community,” Graham said in conclusion.
