GARY JOHNSON ELECTED PRESIDENT OF PARAMOUNT CHAMBER

Gary will serve to advance the Commercial, Financial, Industrial and Civic interests of the Paramount community.

August 1, 2016

The Paramount Chamber of Commerce announced today that Gary Johnson, Vice President of ACE Clearwater has been named President of the Chamber for the 2016-2017 term. The Chamber’s mission is “To advance the Commercial, Financial, Industrial and Civic Interest of our community.”  The Paramount Chamber accomplishes this goal through innovation and outstanding customer service. Their staff takes great pride in their work, and understands the important role they play in fulfilling this mission.

Born in a small farming town in Minnesota, Gary Johnson was always fascinated with photography and the visual arts. His pursuit of a career in commercial photography brought many interesting twists and turns that led to his current role working along-side his wife Kellie Johnson, president of ACE Clearwater Enterprises. ACE is a 200+ employee, family-owned and operated “build-to-print” manufacturer specializing in “Complex Formed and Welded Assemblies for the Aerospace and Power Generation Industries.” Serving as Vice President of ACE for the past 22 years, Gary has been instrumental in growing the company’s business base through qualifying ACE as a direct-to-Government supplier, proposing and executing the company’s strategic acquisition of Honeywell’s metal forming facility, and bringing in over $50 million of new business.

Prior to joining ACE, Gary served as Creative Director/ Producer for Mattel Toys’ Hot Wheels division – a position that opened up many opportunities for travel and media promotion. Before joining Mattel, Gary was Creative Director for a small boutique graphic design company, working primarily on annual reports and promotional media. In the early 80’s, Gary served as Creative Director on a project for the Government of Indonesia – moving there to design, create and produce the Indonesian World’s Fair exhibits in Tsukuba, Japan and Vancouver, Canada. He was responsible for forming and directing a team of inexperienced but highly talented Indonesian artists and craftsmen, working together to promote tourism in their country.

Gary has worked in the creative field of radio, corporate video, commercials and related media, including three years with KEZY AM/FM radio in Anaheim, California as a reporter and Public Affairs Director. He has also worked as a civilian photographer for the United States Air Force, spending two years at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

Gary is an active member of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), The Manufacturing Institute, the California Metals Coalition, the Precision Metal Forming Industry, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).