Huntsville/Madison County Chamber installs board chair; surprises two with Distinguished Service Awards

(Huntsville/Madison County Chamber contributed)

HUNTSVILLE — A normally routine Huntsville/Madison County Chamber membership meeting took a surprise twist Wednesday.

In his last official act as Board chair, Sameer Singhal surprised LaFreeda Jordan and Shane Davis with Distinguished Service Awards during the 89th annual meeting.

Jeff Samz, left, accepts the gavel from Sameer Singhal. (Huntsville/Madison County Chamber contributed)

The Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor the Chamber bestows to an individual in the Huntsville/Madison County community.

Singhal selected Jordan and Davis for their work behind the scenes impacting the community.

Davis is Huntsville’s director of Urban and Economic Development and played a critical role in supporting economic development wins such as Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, Polaris, and GE Aviation.

Jordan is chief of external affairs at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, enhancing UAH’s relationship with local industry, Redstone Arsenal, and the community. She worked for U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby for 25 years, serving as the key interface between his office and the north Alabama community. 

Also at the meeting, Singhal, president and CEO of CFD Research in Cummings Research Park, handed the gavel to incoming Board Chair Jeff Samz, president & CEO of Huntsville Hospital Health System. 

Recent in Business

Alabama officials returned from the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow pointing to new investments, dozens of meetings with aerospace and defense companies, and what they described as growing momentum for one […]

Huntsville-based Sigmatech Inc. has been awarded a $49 million U.S. Space Force contract to provide systems engineering and technical assistance services supporting key space operations and logistics programs. The firm-fixed-price […]