Chamber Team

Chief Executive Officer

Leading the Chamber has been a goal of Jessie’s for most of her life, which does not come as a surprise when  you think about her family’s history of more than 200 years in Giles County.  

Virginia Shores her maternal great grandmother, then later her grandmother Polly Shores Wesson along with  her great aunt Minnie Shores Goodman, owned and operated a women’s clothing store, The Vogue, on the Pulaski  Square while her great aunt and uncle Jane and Hoyt Morrow had Morrow Jewelry a few doors down in what are now  First Realty Group and the Giles Arts Council, respectively.  

Her great uncle, J. Marlin Goodman, holds a place in Giles County history as a past Chamber Director, school  superintendent, educator, civic member and often times the Square’s Santa Clause. He led our schools in being the first Tennessee public system to voluntarily integrate and was involved in the monumental consolidation of schools.  

Parker contributes her personal motivation to improve our community to her mother, Jane Lee Wesson Robertson who also once owned The Vogue. She was raised on the Pulaski Square making memories through her  mother’s role as the Director of Main Street. Visions from the Lee Greenwood concert, to the Milk Drops, to a number of  Main Street Festivals that brought thousands to the community are clear in her recollections of childhood. At a young  age, Jessie learned the importance of brotherhood when she carried an All-American City flag around our square and  fully grasped the knowledge of what earned us that prestigious honor. She shares that story often, proving that our  community is progressive and forward-thinking. In her adult life, her mother’s involvement in our community through  her work as Marketing Director for Hillside Hospital, volunteer roles in various organizations, and the love she has for  Giles County have taught her the importance of standing for something, being passionate about what you believe and  being graceful while doing anything. 

Parker has lived in Pulaski since birth with the exception of her time earning her Bachelor of Science Degree in  Marketing at Auburn University. Since 2005, Parker has not only received a Master of Business Administration with  Marketing emphasis, but has also worked for First National Bank, Hillside Hospital and Holley’s Printing.

Special Programs & Communications

Since she was fifteen, Madi has wanted to work in Rural Community and Economic Development to help small towns like her own continue to grow and evolve. Throughout her life, she saw Mount Pleasant revitalize their downtown district and charted her path for a double major in Public Administration and Marketing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

While completing her degree Madi started her own business, Madi’s Monograms and interned with many community development organizations - including The State of Tennessee Rural Community and Economic Development Department , South Central Tennessee Development District, and Maury County Visitor’s Center.

While her face may be new to our community, Madi is not new to the various state departments and development agencies we work with to gain resources to accelerate the exciting things happening in Giles County. Her extensive background in Community Development brings something special to Giles County.

Office Manager

Ann Basinger has become a fixture at the Giles Chamber, and for good reason. After traveling the world and retiring from a career as a civilian employee of the Department of the Navy in Pearl Harbor, she moved to her adopted home where she dove into community projects with a fervor that is typical of anything she does.

Since coming to Giles County, Basinger has served as president of the hospital’s auxiliary, worked with the Giles County Election Commission and has acted as a judge for the Giles County Fair, as well as countless other community projects.

Her longstanding work with the Chamber began more than a decade ago, when she became a volunteer for its STAR program — Still Thoroughly Active Retirees. With her background in customer service and military evaluation and training programs, Basinger immediately became a standout, and moved from volunteering to serving as the Chamber’s Office Manager, a role she’s held for nearly eight years now.

“Ann is truly the heart of the Chamber and what we do in the community,” Chamber CEO Jessie Parker said. “Folks call the Chamber for information, because they know we will have the answer or where to find it — that is Ann.”

She began her career with the Federal Civil Service and served in several  management roles within the Department of Defense. She was recruited into positions multiple times over her career to implement quality and human resource strategies at the direction of commanders for Navy Public Works and the Joint Intelligence Center in Pearl Harbor. 

Ann developed and facilitated business quality improvement strategies with the development of the Oahu Chamber of Commerce’s Service Excellence Center. She also helped establish the Hawaii State Quality Award for Excellence and was a founding member on the Hawaii State Quality Award for Excellence Planning Committee. 

“She is a problem solver. Big or small, from a simple phone number to facilitating a leadership class, Ann’s professional experience and passion for our community provide us all with a great asset that many likely do not recognize,” Parker added.