Fenn to depart Henry County Development Authority for private sector, Hill named as Interim Director
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 20, 2024 |
The Henry County Development Authority recently announced that Mr. F. J. “Josh” Fenn is departing as Executive Director this month to accept the position of Director of Public Affairs for Stack Infrastructure. Stack Infrastructure is an international data center developer and Fenn will be assisting the firm with public affairs matters including public policy, site selection, and incentives.
During his five-year tenure as Executive Director Fenn guided HCDA to record levels of job and investment attraction. This includes over 8,000 new jobs and billions in investment to date. With a primary focus on transitioning Henry County from a heavy supply chain base to a diverse mix including Advanced Manufacturing firms and preparing Henry County to attract data centers. He has also received numerous awards and recognitions from economic development groups including being named one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers by Consultant Connect, and one of Georgia’s 500 Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine for 2022 and 2023.
Under Fenn’s leadership HCDA projects have won The Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Best in Real Estate Awards 3 of the past 4 years. Henry County ranks 4th in new manufacturing jobs and 5th in overall jobs for Georgia from 2019-2023. Fenn’s efforts also brought the creation of the first Community Improvement District (CID) in Henry County through a partnership between HCDA and The City of Locust Grove.
“Though we are sad to see Josh depart HCDA we are excited for this great opportunity for him and his family. We will continue to see the positive benefits from his work with us in Henry County for years to come,” stated Henry County Development Authority Chairman Irvin Culpepper.
The Authority’s Board of Directors has named Ms. Sharon K. Hill as Interim Executive Director. Hill Currently serves as HCDA’s Manager of Established Industry. Hill joined the Authority in 2022 and has revived the Authority’s Established Industry efforts to record internal metric performance. Through her efforts HCDA has been able to build workforce development partnerships between key educational institutions and industries for citizens to obtain the skills for jobs in the County and promote programs also for them to upskill to advance these career paths within the companies.
Ms. Hill has previously served as Director of Human Resources for Southern Crescent Technical College where she led all the college’s human resource efforts for its 5 campuses and center locations. Prior to her stint at Southern Crescent, she served various leadership roles with AFLAC including Vice President and Chief People Officer.
A resident of Henry County, Ms. Hill is a graduate of Southern University and A&M College. She is also a past graduate of 2007 Leadership Georgia class and has chaired various State and Local committees.
“Sharon has really helped us get our Established Industry program to new levels. We are excited to have her step up and lead us through this transition,” stated Culpepper.
About the Henry County Development Authority
As the lead economic development agency for Henry County, the Development Authority works to help retain local companies and to foster new relationships and opportunities with companies looking to relocate or grow their operations into Henry County. Learn more and connect with the HCDA team by visiting ChooseHenry.com.
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The Henry County Development Authority recently announced that Mr. F. J. “Josh” Fenn is departing as Executive Director this month to accept the position of Director of Public Affairs for Stack Infrastructure. Stack Infrastructure is an international data center developer and Fenn will be assisting the firm with public affairs matters including public policy, site selection, and incentives.
During his five-year tenure as Executive Director Fenn guided HCDA to record levels of job and investment attraction. This includes over 8,000 new jobs and billions in investment to date. With a primary focus on transitioning Henry County from a heavy supply chain base to a diverse mix including Advanced Manufacturing firms and preparing Henry County to attract data centers. He has also received numerous awards and recognitions from economic development groups including being named one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers by Consultant Connect, and one of Georgia’s 500 Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine for 2022 and 2023.
Under Fenn’s leadership HCDA projects have won The Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Best in Real Estate Awards 3 of the past 4 years. Henry County ranks 4th in new manufacturing jobs and 5th in overall jobs for Georgia from 2019-2023. Fenn’s efforts also brought the creation of the first Community Improvement District (CID) in Henry County through a partnership between HCDA and The City of Locust Grove.
“Though we are sad to see Josh depart HCDA we are excited for this great opportunity for him and his family. We will continue to see the positive benefits from his work with us in Henry County for years to come,” stated Henry County Development Authority Chairman Irvin Culpepper.
The Authority’s Board of Directors has named Ms. Sharon K. Hill as Interim Executive Director. Hill Currently serves as HCDA’s Manager of Established Industry. Hill joined the Authority in 2022 and has revived the Authority’s Established Industry efforts to record internal metric performance. Through her efforts HCDA has been able to build workforce development partnerships between key educational institutions and industries for citizens to obtain the skills for jobs in the County and promote programs also for them to upskill to advance these career paths within the companies.
Ms. Hill has previously served as Director of Human Resources for Southern Crescent Technical College where she led all the college’s human resource efforts for its 5 campuses and center locations. Prior to her stint at Southern Crescent, she served various leadership roles with AFLAC including Vice President and Chief People Officer.
A resident of Henry County, Ms. Hill is a graduate of Southern University and A&M College. She is also a past graduate of 2007 Leadership Georgia class and has chaired various State and Local committees.
“Sharon has really helped us get our Established Industry program to new levels. We are excited to have her step up and lead us through this transition,” stated Culpepper.
About the Henry County Development Authority
As the lead economic development agency for Henry County, the Development Authority works to help retain local companies and to foster new relationships and opportunities with companies looking to relocate or grow their operations into Henry County. Learn more and connect with the HCDA team by visiting ChooseHenry.com.
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