James I.

"Jim" Pace Jr. is the 1999 Business Person of

the Year for the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.

The award

was announced at the group's Annual Banquet Saturday.

Pace,

co-founder and president of Group VI Corporation, was

chosen by a panel of former winners based on his diverse

business background spanning 27 years.

His civic

interests encompass a broad spectrum from his service on

the City Council of Peachtree City to active service on

the boards of a number of Fayette County civic

organizations. He also serves on the Executive Committee

of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.

The award

was presented by the 1998 Business Person of the Year,

Wayne Leslie. The chamber has been giving out the award

since 1981.

Other

awards presented Saturday include:

� Ambassador of the Year is Margaret

Vail, co-owner of Aaron's Systems.

The award

is given to someone the chamber deems as having put the

chamber first. Said outgoing Chairman Michael Whiteside,

"Mrs. Vail is one of the founding members of the

Ambassador program, and is such an advocate of the

chamber, we just do not know anyone else who could muster

enough energy to keep up with all her volunteer

efforts."

She has

served as chairman of several chamber committees over the

years and also was recognized for her constant support

and presence.

� The Chet Wells Award went to Janet

McGregor for serving the chamber over and beyond the call

of duty.

McGregor

was selected for her many years of designing materials

for the chamber, serving on a number of committees and

providing the "brain child" for the chamber's

Christmas tree entry at Noel November.

She began a

public relations and graphics company, JMac Marketing,,

in Fayette County in 1994.

The late

Chet Wells was a very active member of the chamber in the

1970s, and McGregor is the 24th recipient of the award.