Two men with ties to the real estate and construction industries have taken major positions with the Clay County Chamber of Commerce.
Doug Conkey, a former Watson Realty agent, is the Chamber's new president and former Clay Builders Council Chairman Bill Garrison will be his Director of Economic Development.
Conkey succeeds John Tabor, who has been the interim president since September 2011, when Kelli Jo Kilberg resigned.
Conkey, a retired U.S. Navy commander, is a longtime resident of the county and an ex-officio director of the Chamber board. He is a second-term Clay County Commissioner and worked as a Watson agent in the county.
Conkey also is a member of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization and served as its chair in 2010 and 2011.
Conkey graduated in 1984 from the U.S. Naval Academy. He served as a Navy pilot for 21 years before retiring as a commander.
Garrison comes to the position after serving as the operations manager and real estate sales agent for Sid Higginbotham Builder.
He was appointed by the Clay County Commission to the seven-member task force that re-organized the Chamber of Commerce and its Economic Development Mission.
He chaired the Clay Builders Council in 2007 and 2010.