Jim Byard, Jr. served as mayor of the City of Prattville from 1999 to 2011. He served as Director of ADECA (Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs) from 2011 to 2017. He formed Byard Associates, LLC in 2017, a consulting firm specializing in business development, community and economic development as well as strategy. He works with cities, counties and companies across Alabama. He is a past president of the Alabama League of Municipalities and has served on the Boards of the National League of Cities, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA). Further, he serves as Chair of the Board of Main Street Alabama and serves on the Board of Directors of DesignAlabama, YourTown Alabama, Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE), the Autauga Education Foundation, and the Prattville YMCA. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with double minors in business and sociology from Troy State University Montgomery, now Troy University. He is a graduate of Leadership Alabama and the Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy. He and his wife Beverly live in the Daniel Pratt Historic District in Prattville. They have three children, Marylise, a senior at Birmingham-Southern and sons James III and Richard, senior and junior, respectively at Prattville High School. They are active members of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Prattville.