January 24, 2014 at 3:12 p.m.
Aylesworth details chamber's 2014 goals
Aylesworth details chamber's 2014 goals
New chamber board president Brett Aylesworth discussed the search for the chamber's next executive director and the board's goals for 2014 which include a brand new event and improved communication.
Aylesworth's first priority is finding a new executive director.
Former executive director Lara Reed left the chamber Jan. 10 to take a marketing account manager position with Ministry Medical Group. To help ensure the chamber office runs efficiently while the board of directors searches for a new director, Sandy Edington, a former board member and treasurer for the chamber, has been hired as a temporary office manager.
The search for a new director is under way. Aylesworth confirmed that a hiring committee has been formed and applications are being accepted. The deadline to submit an application is Jan. 27.
"We have formed a hiring committee which has 12 members on it - a few chamber board members, some other community members, Sarah Pischer of the Department of Tourism, and then a few other people who hire a lot of people and have experience with that," Aylesworth said. "We've met once and we're going to continue meeting."
"Applications are due Monday, Jan. 27, so after that we'll review them all and pick our interview candidates and go from there," he added.
The goal is to have the new executive director in place by March.
Aylesworth said the new director will have big shoes to fill.
"Lara's done an absolutely fantastic job for us. She will be missed. We can only hope our new executive director has the passion she does," he said.
Beyond the search for a new executive director, Aylesworth said the chamber has some big plans for 2014, including a new event.
"We have some big things planned for 2014 here at the chamber. The first thing we have planned that everyone's really excited about is the Boom Lake Log Jam. That's a new event that's going to take place the weekend of June 21 at Hodag Park. It will go over the logging and lumberjack history of Rhinelander. There will be a traveling lumberjack competition, live music, kids games and activities. It'll just be an awesome time for families," Aylesworth said.
Outside of new events, Aylesworth said the chamber will be looking to improve communication and messaging.
"Another big thing for 2014 on the chamber's end is communication. We're looking to get the message out and make it clear what we can do for the community and what the Rhinelander community does for everyone else," Aylesworth said.
"We'll be here helping with that message and we're going to be providing programming to help everyone with that message - just communicating what Rhinelander is and how we operate and things like that."
That includes reaching out to employees of chamber businesses.
"Another communication focus is one the businesses can help with and that's, as business members of the chamber, we hope that they can convey to their employees that they are also members of the chamber," Aylesworth said.
"I see a lot of whole businesses here and that's what we're looking for. It's not just the owner of the business that's a member of the chamber, it's all the employees too. They can take advantage of all of the opportunities that the chamber offers."
The following Businesses of the Year awards were presented during the dinner. The winners were:
Retail Business of the Year: Trig's
Tourism and Convention Business of the Year: The Northwoods Children's Museum
Professional and Industrial Business of the Year: Park City Credit Union
Non-Profit Organization of the Year: Oneida County Fair
Volunteer of the Year: Leroy Eades
Note: Click on the second photo, at right, to view a photo gallery of the award winners.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.