Great Southern Wood Preserving Elevates Callender

Jimmy Rane, board chairman of Great Southern Wood Preserving, which has a large treatment facility in Irvington, has announced that Mark Callender, a 34-year veteran of the company, will be elevated to president and CEO on October 1, AL.com reported. Callender will take over daily leadership of the company, while Rane will maintain his role as the company’s chairman of the board. Callender joined the company in 1991 as an inside sales representative at the company’s Bushnell, Florida, location. He has worn several hats, serving as sales manager and general manager of that facility before moving to the company’s headquarters in Abbeville in 2007, when he was named chief operating officer. “Clearly, there’s no replacing Jimmy and what he has accomplished at Great Southern,” Callender said. “As his successor, I am committed to building on the foundation of excellence that Jimmy has established over the past 56 years.”