CUMMING — A key official with the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce has stepped down and been replaced on an interim basis.

Randall Toussaint, the organization’s vice president of economic development, confirmed Thursday that he was relocating to Washington, D.C.

“My wife, who is a literacy specialist, was offered her dream job, the job she has always wanted, and the caveat there was that we would have to relocate,” Toussaint said. “It wasn’t an easy decision for any of us to think through, but we really want to support her dream and support her goals professionally.”

Toussaint’s wife, Annaliza, previously served for four years as the executive director of Literacy Forsyth.

Toussaint was hired by the chamber in 2010 after working as assistant director in the office of economic development for Clayton County, south of Atlanta, and said that his time with the chamber was “amazing.”

“This was my dream job,” he said. “I got a chance to really take this position at a time in our nation’s history where economic developers were probably needed the most. It was right in the heart of the economic downturn, and the growth that we’ve seen since then, it’s been phenomenal.”

During his tenure, Toussaint said the chamber helped generate more than $350 million in new capital investment, brought several thousand new jobs and helped keep several companies in the area.

James McCoy, president of the chamber, said Toussaint always put the community first when dealing with companies

“Randall is a very gifted economic developer, he was very focused on putting the right people in the room in order to get deals done, and was very diligent in making sure that the process moved forward with a lot of support from the community,” McCoy said.

“For Randall, it’s all about the community and all about the projects and making sure we get to celebrate that opportunity, not just celebrating a win.”

Though Toussaint’s permanent replacement will not be chosen until later this year, the position will be filled in the interim by county resident Kerry Campbell.

“The job has already been posted, but we hope to fill the job by late October,” Campbell said. “It’ll be a short time here, but we just want to make sure everything continues to work well the way it is, and Randall’s done a fantastic job here.”

Campbell is a retired executive with Georgia Power, where he worked for 38 years. Approached by McCoy, Campbell decided to take the job as an opportunity to learn more about his community.

“I said, ‘Well, I’ve been retired for seven years, I’m sort of enjoying that, but let me think about it,’” Campbell said. “I thought about it as a very unique opportunity. Because living in a county and not really knowing the leaders, not knowing the infrastructure that is there, I thought it would give me a unique opportunity to learn about this community I live in.”

Toussaint said he has benefitted from working with Campbell during the transition.

“This has been an outstanding treat for me,” Toussaint said. “… For me, this has almost been like a mini-mentorship over the last several days. I think he’s going to grab the bull by the horns.”

McCoy said they are looking for Toussaint’s permanent replacement.

“For us, the focus will be on candidates that can deliver real results, and that understand the role of the community in achieving those results,” he said. “There is an important relationship there that you’re putting people together to get deals done and to get projects done.”

As for Toussaint, the man who brought so many jobs to the area doesn’t currently have a new position lined up.

“I’ll be relocating to D.C. in the next few weeks,” Toussaint said. “I have just started to think about what the future is going to hold professionally, but the main goal is to help my son get situated and acclimated to the new environment.”