Chamber of Commerce President Evelyn Clay’s last day will be June 11, and the replacement for her husband, Martyn Clay, was announced by Bainbridge College President Tom Wilkerson.

Wilkerson appointed Director of Admissions and Records Connie Snyder to serve as interim dean for student services. With her new duties, Snyder has overall administrative responsibility for the Student Affairs Division.

Mr. Clay, who was vice president of student affairs and enrollment services at BC, started Monday as provost for academic and student affairs at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell in New Mexico.

Mrs. Clay said Tuesday she will join him there as soon as the couple sells or rents their home.

“This was a calculated move,” Evelyn Clay said Tuesday. “This was about putting family first.”

Mrs. Clay’s mother lives in El Paso, Texas, which is where Mrs. Clay grew up.

“This will be nice,” she said, referring to moving closer to her mother.

Chamber of Commerce officials told Mrs. Clay that they gave her the June 11 date so the board of directors can begin the search process early.

The Clays arrived in Bainbridge in 2008. Evelyn Clay replaced Cile Warr was the Chamber’s president.

“As Dr. Clay leaves Bainbridge College, he takes with him our thanks for his dedicated efforts here in a time when we are experiencing explosive enrollment growth,” Wilkerson said. “We also wish him and his wife, Evelyn, all the best in this new phase of their lives.”

Miss Bainbridge College

“We are fortunate to have someone with Connie’s experience and dedication to our students,” he told the BC faculty and staff.

“In many ways Connie Snyder is Miss Bainbridge College,” Wilkerson said when he announced her 2009 silver award for customer service from Chancellor Erroll B. Davis. “Saying that she is dedicated to helping students vastly understates her deep devotion to the well-being and future of every student who comes to our college.”

Snyder also received a customer service commendation from Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Known in the community as the face of Bainbridge College, Snyder has served the school in a variety of capacities since 1987. She often speaks to civic groups and at GED graduations, inspiring others to persevere by sharing her experiences of earning a GED and subsequent higher education. She strives to attend GED graduations and has missed only one for Decatur County.

The BC alumnae earned her associate of applied science degree in secretarial science and continued her education at Valdosta State College. After earning her bachelor’s degree in education, she earned a master’s in counseling and psychology from Troy State University at Dothan. She completed board certification in university crisis response through Clayton College and State University.

In addition to volunteer work with GED students, individual counseling, and respite care for families, she is involved in many civic endeavors including Flint River Hospice and Family Connection.