James Dignan Takes Command at Chamber

Dignan to Receive Leadership Award in D.C.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – James Dignan, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, will receive the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s Leading Globally Matters Locally Award next week during the organization’s State Leaders Summit.

The award recognizes Dignan’s efforts in supporting “U.S. diplomacy and development programs that strengthen Ohio’s economy and help keep America safe,” the Leadership Coalition said in a statement. 

Among those efforts is the Eastern Ohio Military Affairs Commission, which advocates for the Youngstown Air Reserve Station and Camp James A. Garfield in Ravenna, the latter of which is one of three finalists for a possible missile defense site.

Held June 17 and 18, the State Leaders Summit draws more than 600 representatives from business, military, government, nonprofit and faith organizations across the country. During the conference, representatives will meet with lawmakers to discuss protecting funding for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, which the Trump administration has proposed cutting by 24%.

The conference comes just before the chamber’s D.C. Fly-In June 19 and 20, where business and government leaders from the Mahoning Valley will meet with the state’s congressional delegation to discuss the future of YARS and Camp Garfield, as well as the revitalization of the Mahoning River.

Dignan served in the U.S. Navy for six years and in the Air Force Reserves for 19, including as commander of the 910th Airlift Wing at YARS from 2013 to 2016. After leaving the 910th, he was deputy director of global force management and mobilization at the Pentagon until 2018, when he took over as leader of the Regional Chamber.

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