Executive director of the Richmond Hill-Bryan County Chamber of Commerce Brianne Yontz has given notice that she will leaving her position July 19.

Yontz, who has been executive director since 2011, said family health issues are forcing her to resign.

She said her father’s health has been failing for several years and she wants to spend more time with him and other family members.

Yontz said she will travel to Connnecticut later this summer to visit her father and other family members in the Constitution state.

She said she is proud of the strides the chamber has made since she joined the organization with the chamber growing from 171 members in 2011 to 400 members in 2019.

The executive director said she has offered to help in the transition to a new director and credited the success of the growth in the chamber to staff, volunteers, hard-working board members and support from the community.

“It has been a pleasure working with the community these last eight years,” Yontz said.

The chamber has grown, in part, she said, because the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival funds a good portion of the chamber’s budget.

“We are in a better position than many other chambers,” she said.

She said it is bittersweet leaving the chamber because of the effort she has poured in and calls it her “baby.”

Yontz said she and her family have no plans on leaving the Richmond Hill area. When she returns from Connecticut, she hopes to find part-time work. She said she hopes the community will continue to grow and cites the various Special Purpose Local Options Sales Taxes that have passed in Bryan County recently, along with the new interchange, as an indication that the community is headed in the correct direction.

“The community is growing and more businesses are offering jobs so, hopefully, fewer people will have to leave Bryan County to find jobs.