The JAX Chamber Board of Directors on recently selected Debbie Buckland as 2019 Chamber Chair. Buckland, BB&T market president, currently serves as Treasurer of the Chamber’s board and will begin as Chair-elect in January 2018.

“The Chamber is on the forefront of what is happening in our city and leads on important issues,” Buckland said. “I’m thrilled to be working with Chamber leadership and the business community to help Jacksonville continue to grow all while improving the quality of life for the people who call it home.”

The Chamber traditionally selects its chair more than a year in advance. In her role as Chair-elect, Buckland will lead the 2018 Leadership Trip and the Chamber’s Board of Governors in 2018, a larger group of business leaders that helps to implement policy and priorities set by the Board of Directors. John Peyton, a former Jacksonville mayor who is now president of GATE Petroleum, is Chair-elect this year and will serve as Chair of the Board of Directors in 2018. Buckland has more than 30 years experience in financial services and was named BB&T market president in 2014.

She has served on the board of First Coast YMCA and as Immediate Past Chair of Downtown Vision, Inc.  She is a past chair of Jacksonville Women’s Business Center and American Cancer Society, a member of Wolfson Children’s Hospital Women’s Board, Jacksonville Women’s Network and Women’s Giving Alliance and is currently serving on the Campaign Cabinet for United Way of Northeast Florida.

“Debbie’s enthusiasm and passion for Jacksonville are incredible. I look forward to serving with her as she works to improve opportunities for everyone throughout our community,” Peyton said.

In 2016, Buckland was honored as a Woman of Distinction by Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, was named Woman of Influence by the Jacksonville Business Journal in 2006, is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Jacksonville and in 2011 was named by the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women as one of Jacksonville’s Women Making a Difference.  Buckland is a graduate of Emory & Henry College in Emory, Va. with a B.A. in Business and Economics and Philosophy.

The remainder of the 2018 JAX Chamber Board of Directors will be finalized later this year.