![This photo, from 2015, shows Col. James Dignan when he served as commander of the Air Force Reserve Station in Vienna. [Tim Rudell / WKSU]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b57d9a5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/728x600+0+0/resize/840x692!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2019%2F11%2F780355230_763794808.jpg)
In an unexpected move, the board of the has decided to bring back its former CEO. And it won鈥檛 renew the contract of current Chamber President , an Air Force veteran who took the helm in January, 2018.
Dignan says he has no hard feelings, and it was a matter of differing visions for the future. He had hoped to capitalize on advanced manufacturing in the region, as well as connections to military installations like the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, .
鈥淎nd then we had the Camp Garfield piece as well 鈥� the potential for an east coast missile defense site. That was something that I was supportive and big on and thought that we need to advocate and do that aggressively in order to get the attention at the right levels.鈥�
Dignan plans to remain in the area to raise his family and eventually work on the ideas he feels were not well received by the chamber, such as expanding advanced manufacturing.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 3D manufacturing or 鈥� all of those things that are coalescing here in the Valley and are important to our long-term economic development. And, of course, important for us to maintain a little bit of primacy in our manufacturing skill set.鈥�
Among the successes of his tenure, Dignan counts the Warehouse project as well as the building of the .
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