Madison resident Michele Mason has worked with Better Business Bureau serving North Alabama for 23 years. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Michele Mason soon will leave as president of Better Business Bureau serving North Alabama and accept a similar position in West Palm Beach, Fla. She has worked 23 years with BBB.

“I’ve reached a point in my life where I felt I should be back close to (immediate family in Florida). It was a very tough decision. I didn’t want to leave my work family and friends here,” she said.

A Madison resident since 1991, Mason has “loved living in the city and watching it grow.” She served on the Madison Industrial Development Board from 1997-2002.

In West Palm Beach, Mason will be senior vice president for BBB serving Southeast Florida and the Caribbean. Her position will focus on operations, involving dispute resolution, business reviews and fraud.

“BBBs are categorized on a scale of 1-7; 1 is smallest. North Alabama is currently categorized as ‘2’; West Palm is ‘7,’” Mason said.

Mason is extremely proud her office earned community trust, translating into “huge growth. In the past 12 months, we’ve had over 620,000 visits to our website and more than 515,000 views of BBB Business Reviews.”

North Alabama BBB collaborated with “Dateline NBC”‘ to expose tactics of an air duct cleaning ring. BBB research revealed fraud in 20-plus states. That story reached 6 million-plus viewers.

“Our team was touched the most by aftermath of 2011 tornadoes. We manned a booth at the FEMA station. It was so rewarding to help … storm victims by giving them peace of mind,” Mason said.

For her successor, Mason recommends a focus on BBB as a “standards-based organization offering verified information and helping our business community stay focused on operating with the highest level of ethics.”

Mason earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Her first job in Huntsville was a two-year stint in hotel management.

Her husband Danny Mason, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, works as senior test engineer for Modern Technology Solutions Inc. Michele’s daughter, Missy McDaniel, is a junior at Auburn University.