Chamber of Commerce looking for fresh start

Entering a reassessment phase

The Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce has four new board members and is going through a weighty re-assessment phase. Two task forces have been formed to look into a couple of significant issues and report back to the general membership at the Thursday, March 1 membership meeting.

At the board meeting on Tuesday, February 21, the “slate” of Ann Johnston of the Crested Butte Land Trust, Kate Haverkampf of Task LLC, Frank Stichter of M3 Insurance Solutions and Andrea Greene from the Ruby of Crested Butte were seated on the board.
Incumbents include Peter Maxwell, Andy Eflin, Lisa Lenander, Chuck Donnelly, Dave Clayton and John Wirsing.
Board president Sara Morgan will stay on as a board member until the end of May to help the transition. New officer elections will be held at the March 20 meeting.
“I will stay on and help with the executive director search,” Morgan said. “We’re definitely in a re-evaluation period and the financials are driving everything right now.”
As for the task forces, one will look at general finances and how to address a $50,000 loan that is coming due March 4.  That loan was taken in 2010 as a line of credit from a local bank and used to cover cash flow to bridge the time between membership renewals and expenses.
At the moment, the chamber does not have the funds to pay back the loan but the bank has agreed to extend that line of credit.
The other task force will deal with the towns of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte and determine how best to run the visitor’s centers and events in the two communities. For example, Crested Butte Bike Week and the Fourth of July parade on Elk Avenue are both chamber-run events.
“Honestly, the chamber is in assessment mode right now,” said interim executive director Tammy Scott. “Everything is being looked at, at this point.”
Scott said the chamber has received 10 applications to fill the job of permanent executive director. “Five have come from people living in the county and five from outside,” she said. “I would expect to receive a few more before the process closes March 1.”
Scott, who is the longtime executive director of the Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce, agreed to serve as a consultant to the Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte chamber after Richard Bond was terminated from the executive director position. Scott’s contract states she will consult through the spring at the latest.
In the meantime, executive employees Scott Still and Kristen Van Hoesen will be leaving the chamber. Still has gone to take a job in Grand Junction while Van Hoesen’s last day is March 2.
The annual membership meeting is scheduled for the morning of March 1 at the Club at Crested Butte.