Former Towson student and current MT&T Bank executive James Jones was sworn in as the Towson Chamber of Commerce President Wednesday,  May 27, succeeding Deb Moriarty, vice president of student affairs.

Jones, at 30, is the youngest president to date, which he said benefits his organization positively. Jones has been involved with the organization for over five years.

“I haven’t felt any doubts about my appointment,” he said. “Everybody has been supportive, through all levels of membership within the organization. We have to continue to bring in fresh ideas. Our success is ever-growing and hinged on continuing to grow, and that is bringing in some new blood, whether that be new members or younger people.”

Jones said communication is key, especially communication with the University, which he said Moriarty worked hard to achieve.

“We’re keeping the community connected, bringing Towson University to businesses, because it’s a major economic engine in the town,” he said.

Jones said he hopes to provide opportunities and funds to students, specifically business and marketing majors, to give them with real-life business experience.

Also, with the one of the next Chamber of Commerce events coming up, The Taste of Towson, which will occur Sept. 20, and features over 25 area restaurants, he hopes to offer more enticing deals for vendors to appear.

He said that he hopes to implement more incentives like these to involve outsiders looking to participate in events.

“We’re selling space to vendors, offering a kind of three-days weekend ticket to those vendors, which would improve profitability of the organization,“ he said. “It’s also a nice way to promote vendors to come [and] could make … a big difference to folks that are traveling from far away.”

Moriarty said she has the utmost confidence in Jones. Moriarty served a full one-year term with the Chamber, and said that she would have been honored to be considered again, however, she wanted others to gain that experience.

“He’ll be terrific,” she said. “He’s a young upcoming business leader in the Towson community, and is making sure that the organization is sustainable.”

Visit the Towson Chamber of Commerce website to learn more about local events, including the Feet on the Street block party and the Towson Farmers’ market.