UPPER CUMBERLAND – A long-time Upper Cumberland chamber of commerce leader has been tapped to take over the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s ThreeStar program, a statewide a community development initiate.
Jody Sliger was announced as the new ThreeStar director today by ECD Commissioner Randy Boyd. She most recently served as interim president and tourism and marketing director of the Sparta-White County Chamber of Commerce. Prior to that, Sliger was a journalist in the Upper Cumberland region, including as lifestyles editor of The Expositor newspaper in Sparta.
Sliger will start her official post with ECD on March 2 and said she will stay on with the chamber through the end of February. The City of Sparta was accepting applications for the position of chamber president through Feb. 15, its second such search to fill that vacancy.
Last year, 88 of 95 Tennessee counties were awarded ThreeStar status, including all 14 in the Upper Cumberland. Sliger said she looks forward to continued improvement from the program.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity,” Sliger told the UCBJ. “It seemed like the right timing, and the ThreeStar program has always been something I felt very strongly about. Of course, I’ve worked on county side of ThreeStar, so I know the program is very beneficial and has been for Sparta and White County. It’s going to take a little while to get a feel for the state side of it, but I’d like to see how we can work with all the other communities, share success stories and make it even better.”
