By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
It was a night of reflection on the past, but also one of optimism about the future at the Barren Inc. annual meeting on Fec. 5.
The main event revolved around passing the gavel from 2025 chamber of commerce chair Nicole Randall to 2026 chair CheyAnne Fant. Before delivering her grateful remarks, Randall received a lifelike bobble head to commemorate her year-long service as Barren Inc.’s president.
“Last year I stood on [the Cave Area Conference Center] stage as the incoming chair of Barren Inc…and shared with you one of my personal guiding principles: that we have a moral obligation to make the area in which we live better, and I watched as you all continued to do just that,” Randall said. “2025 has been an incredible year for our chamber. As I pass the gavel to CheyAnne, I do so with immense pride, gratitude, and optimism for the future of Barren Inc.”
Fant told Glasgow News 1 that she is excited to assume the role and that her focus for 2026 is being a chamber of commerce responsive to the needs of its members — the specifics of which were not set in stone, she added.
“My mission for this year is for us to focus on what kind of chamber we actually want to be: Are we going to be the kind of chamber who always puts members first, who buys local, who supports each other,” Fant said. “Finding out what our chamber members actually need so we can turn into the kind of chamber that they want us to be. I think we’re already fulfilling lots of that [but] as a counselor I’ve learned to listen before I speak [and] that’s what I want the members to do with me and the executive team.”
“It’s not a tug-of-war it’s more of a pulley system, so if we’re all pulling in the same direction we will rise together,” she added.
Fant ended the night challenging those in attendance to think about the kind of chamber they want to see, and what kind of member did they want to be.
Barren Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Maureen Carpenter also reflected on the past year, saying that 2025 was a “historic year,” one in which “truly saw the payoff.” She mentioned the 73 new chamber members, the 90 events Barren Inc. has hosted, the collaboration with the Cave City and Hart County chambers of commerce, and the new tiered membership model that the chamber launched in 2025.
“I want to emphasize this: the success we’re celebrating didn’t happen by accident,” Carpenter said. “It’s the result of strong partnerships, engaged members, committed leadership, and a shared belief in what Barren County can be.”
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