PORT TOWNSEND — A bittersweet sendoff awaits the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
On Thursday, the board announced Teresa Verraes, the chamber’s executive director, plans to step down in 2018 to pursue a new career opportunity.
Board President Robert Birman did not express complete surprise, he said.
“Teresa has been courted by many organizations over the past few years for good reason – she’s a highly capable leader with great energy and superior interpersonal skills,” Birman said.
“The board knew this possibility was never a question of if but when. I am sorry that the time has come now but the board and I are happy for Teresa and we wish her nothing but continued success.”
In the meantime, the board will work with an independent search firm to manage Verraes’ replacement, according to a press release.
“We feel well positioned to continue to grow the chamber in 2018,” Birman said.
“This is a bittersweet moment for me,” Verraes said. “I love the chamber of commerce and what we stand for, and I love this community. Leading the chamber has been the greatest professional experience of my life.”
Verraes told the board she might help lead a local startup in Port Townsend.
“It is too soon to disclose those details but I wanted to give our board ample time to identify my successor and plan some training time for this transition,” she said. “It’s the right time.”
Verraes became executive director in 2011 at a time when the chamber faced “significant hurdles,” including a fractured membership base and no operating cash reserves in the aftermath of a complex merger process among disparate local chambers of commerce in the region, Birman said.
However, Birman said Verraes managed to grow a healthy cash reserve while increasing membership, outreach and community relations.
Katherine Baril, a longstanding member of the board who helped recruit Verraes to her post in 2011, said: “Teresa is such a dynamic leader. Having been born and raised here, she was the right person at the right time to help revitalize our chamber of commerce and, by extension, our business community.”
Birman enumerated Verraes’ top accomplishments during her tenure.
They include reaching a membership of 400 businesses, co-creating the Jefferson County Business Resource Center, launching Jefferson County’s Young Professionals Network, creating a “Lean Thinking” workshop series, relocating the Visitor’s Information Center and engaging a program of 45 volunteers.
Now, the chamber is regarded as one of the “most vibrant chambers in Washington state,” Birman said.
