By Mary Jo Coulehan
Pagosa Springs Area
Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber of Commerce will have three open seats on the board of directors for the 2021 year.
Every year, three board members cycle off the board and three new members come on the board. Terms for the board seats are for three years. This puts together a nice mix of seasoned and new board members. In addition, the Chamber looks to have a good mix on the board to represent the wide variety of businesses that are in our community.
We would like to thank our board members who are rotating off the board and who have served for three years.
Mary Hunt is the president of the board and has served as president for two years. She has been a strong leader, observant of being inclusive of all businesses and intent on getting the temperature and thoughts of the business community through a variety of surveys that the Chamber has conducted.
Jim Hayes has also been a strong advocate and mentor to new businesses and communicating to our businesses the need to network — really network, not just say hello. He has been the meeter/greeter at our Business After Hours, introducing new members around and integrating them into the business community.
Diane Levison is also rotating off the board. Levison is an individual member and has been a key player in the board engagement. With her former position with the Pagosa Springs Medical Center, she was poised to look at the whole of the community and how businesses and residents interact. She was a strong player both on event planning and financial analysis.
All of these board members will be missed.
Therefore, it is time to fill some big shoes. An owner or manager of a Chamber member business may run for a board seat if their business is in good standing and has been a member of the Chamber for a minimum of one year. A nomination form is available on the Chamber website at www.pagosachamber.com. Self-nominations are due by Nov. 6. The slate of six candidates will be presented to the membership in December with voting occurring in December. Members can cast their ballot for three candidates. Three of the six candidates will be elected to the board by the membership.
Board members are required to attend a monthly meeting, any subcommittee as elected, and to volunteer at the Chamber’s Business After Hours and events that are held. Different voices make for good conversation and decisions; therefore, we encourage a variety of businesses to consider serving. For more information, you can contact Mary Jo at the Chamber at 264-2360.
