MIDDLEBURY — The board of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce has appointed Philip Summers to serve as executive director of the Chamber effective Oct. Summers is a graduate of Wagner College with a B.A., and a graduate of Brooklyn College with an M.S. in Communication.

He is also an adjunct lecturer in the School of Business at the University of Mary Washington, where he remotely teaches undergraduate courses in marketing and advertising.

Summers has spent the majority of his career in some way connected with sports, working in marketing and sales with the NFL, moving on to sports marketing with Sirius Radio, and then working in marketing and creative services for Cablevision. He then shifted over to the non-profit world, becoming the executive director of the Virginia Youth Soccer Association. There he worked with over 140,000 players and 30,000 coaches and administrators across Virginia and the District of Columbia and oversaw a budget of over $4.5 million.

Addison County Chamber Chair Adam Rainville said, “Philip brings years of business and non-profit experience to the Chamber and will help the board to steer the Chamber into the future with professionalism. We are fortunate to have someone of Phil’s caliber to lead the chamber.”

Summers has been tasked by the board to continue providing support to current chamber members, to grow the membership ranks, and to further strengthen partnerships with other community organizations to better serve the needs of Addison County businesses and non-profit organizations.

One project Summers will pick up is the evolving plan being formed to possibly move the chamber headquarters from Middlebury to New Haven.

Summers replaces Rob Carter, who will retire at the end of September. Carter and his wife will move to Virginia to be closer to family.