Chamber Director Resigns
Barnesville Area Chamber of Commerce Director Jill Hissom tendered her resignation over the weekend, the culmination of a series of developments that began in February.
The Chamber Board met on Friday issuing the following statement today, Monday, July 13.
Message from the Chamber Board:
The Barnesville Area Chamber of Commerce confirms that Jill Hissom has resigned from her position with the Chamber. We thank her for her years of service and wish her well. The Chamber will begin the process of identifying its next director and remains committed to serving our members and the Barnesville community -Chamber Board Members
This followed Hissom’s appearance in Eastern Division Court last Thursday morning. At that time she plead guilty to a single misdemeanor theft charge.
Earlier this year, the two Ohio Valley television stations and Cambridge-based radio stations reported that three theft charges were filed by the Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office against local resident Jill Hissom, who happens to be the Director of the Barnesville Area Chamber of Commerce.
At that time, Barnesville Area News issued a statement that we would not report on the charges until resolution on the matter was reached.
In the interim, the Barnesville Chamber Board of Directors issued two statements:
The Barnesville Chamber of Commerce issued the following statement directed to chamber members and the general public the morning of Wednesday, April 1:
The Barnesville Area Chamber of Commerce is aware of concerns that have been raised regarding a staffing matter.
The Chamber has taken appropriate interim administrative steps and is conducting an internal review. Because this is a personnel matter, and because the Chamber has obligations to handle these matters responsibly and fairly, the Chamber will not comment further on personnel details at this time.
Read the full release here.
Following that statement, the director was placed on administrative leave.
Then, in June, the Chamber issued a second statement regarding the mater.
Friday, June 5 – The Barnesville Area Chamber of Commerce is aware of concerns that have been raised regarding a staffing matter.
The Chamber has taken appropriate administrative steps and reviewed the matter through its Board process.
Read the full release here.
Following that statement, Hissom returned to the workplace.
According to the Belmont County Courts website, Prosecutor T.J. Schultz represented the State of Ohio and Attorney Jacob Leach represented the defendant at an initial hearing on Thursday, July 2.
The hearing was continued on Thursday, July 9, with a Sentencing Hearing scheduled for Tuesday, September 22.
In the interim, court records reveal Attorney Leach filed “letters regarding the defendant” which were received on July 2. Six days later, Leach e-filed a “Pre-Sentence Memorandum in Support of the Defendant”.
Eastern Division Court Judge David Trouten accepted a plea of guilty to one charge of misdemeanor theft while the other two charges were dismissed.
The hearing revealed that the thefts occurred at the St. Clairsville Walmart. Trouten sentenced Hissom to 180 days in jail but suspended all but 10 days, allowing those to be served in community service. She was also placed on five years’ probation during which she is not allowed to enter any Walmart store.
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Hissom was hired as director in 2017 when the chamber membership list hovered around 100. In June 2022 when she resigned to relocate to Raleigh, North Carolina, membership had doubled according to an article printed in the Times Leader newspaper (6/18/2022).
Several months later, Hissom returned picking up where she left off. Over the past four years, the membership expanded further to almost 300.
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