b'It is the responsibility of Chamber leadership to connect the space between Charlestons illustrious past and the brightest-imagined future for the regions stakeholders. During a roundtable discussion, we asked five past Chamber board chairs to share their thoughts, there to here to whats next, on everything from membership to regional milestone events.BRIDGEPATRICK BRYANT(PB), Chamber Board Chair in 2017. Prolific entrepreneur and co-founder of Go To Team broadcast services and Code/+/Trust software development firms, he continues to invest in new startups. Believes the Chambers ability to put pressure on the legislature and municipalities and political leaders to invest in pillars like education and infrastructure is significant. Those are the things the Chamber must shout the loudest about or we will devolve quickly to become a city thats growing with very poor infrastructure. There is no doubt the Chamber has been the leading business voice over 250 years for moving big goals forward. We have huge community opportunities, including supporting emerging high-impact businesses in the entrepreneurial/innovation sector.RON JONES(abbreviated to RJ here), served an 18-month term as Chairman of the Board in 2011 and 2012 as the Chamber moved from observing a fiscal year to calendar year. Riley Institute Diversity Fellow. Partner at Smith Debnam Attorneys at Law specializing in bankruptcy and debtor-creditor law. Believes strongly that the Chamber needs broad representation in membership and leadership, including women in business, and was instrumental in achieving that. I recognized there was not a lot of diversity on the board, both in terms of gender and race, and that we were limited under our bylaws. That was 2012. A decade later, diversity, equity and inclusion is at the forefront of what we do. This is very satisfying and the best accomplishment of the Chamber during my tenure.18 CHAMBER RETROSPECTIVE250 YEARS'