PORT TOWNSEND — Tim Caldwell, who will resign effective June 27 as the general manager of the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce to take a position with Puget Sound Energy, says he’s leaving on a high note after 16 years with the chamber.
Caldwell has accepted the Port Townsend-based executive position with PSE, which provides power to East Jefferson County, and will begin work on June 30.
The Port Townsend native son took the new PSE position of community partnerships manager a week ago.
He will lead a staff of two at a new office in the Waterman & Katz Building, 181 Quincy St. A grand opening for the office is set from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. June 18.
Caldwell agreed to remain with the chamber to assist with the transition to a new manager and assure the success of ongoing projects.
Those projects include the new city of Port Townsend/chamber-operated Visitor Information Center at Haines Place Park and Ride, the Port Townsend-Keystone route’s new vehicle ferries and the Hood Canal Bridge and ferry mitigation process.
The chamber and city broke ground for the visitor information center on Monday. Caldwell said that was the biggest accomplishment of his chamber career.
“I fully expect to be involved as a proponent for the community,” said Caldwell, 58.
“I will just be wearing a different hat.
“I’m not going anywhere. That’s the exciting part.”
Caldwell said he hopes to remain with the chamber as a board member representing the company.
Having had 16 bosses on chamber boards over 16 years, Caldwell joked, “Now I will get to push around the general manager.”
PSE executives said they were “thrilled” to hire Caldwell.
“As an energy company, it is important for us to bring energy efficiency to local communities, in addition to our traditional customer utility services,” said Phil Bussey, senior vice president for corporate affairs at PSE, in a written statement.
“We listened to our customers in Port Townsend, and are responding with this new office to help give area residents and businesses the necessary tools to conserve, be more energy efficient, and protect the environment, with personalized customer service.”
Bussey praised Caldwell’s strong community and business ties and leadership skills as “a tremendous asset” to PSE in Jefferson County.
At PSE, Caldwell will be charged with making it easy for Port Townsend and county residents to take advantage of PSE programs that promote alternative ways to save energy and lower monthly utility bills.
The electric utility now serves more than 17,000 customers in Jefferson County. The county has one of the highest per capita numbers of participants in PSE’s net metering program, which allows customers to generate their own power through solar, wind and biomass, and send what energy they don’t use back to PSE for future credit.
Caldwell said PSE “really gets the green concept of providing energy.
“PSE wants to do more customer service in the rural markets,” he said, adding that an office like that opening in Port Townsend was recently opened on Vashon Island.
