SEQUIM – As the new executive director of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce, Lee Lawrence is taking a pay cut and a salary increase at the same time.
Lawrence, who was chosen the Sequim Citizen of the Year in 2006 owing to his relentless volunteerism, has been a Merrill Lynch financial adviser for the past seven years.
So yes, the $50,000 he’ll earn as chamber boss represents a decrease in remuneration, he said.
But as he starts his new job today, Lawrence will stop being an unpaid community worker.
“His volunteerism in the community raised his skill level . . . he has more leadership skills and more diverse skills” than the other finalists, said Hattie Dixon, president of the chamber board, which announced Lawrence’s selection on Tuesday.
After executive director Marny Hannan announced in May that she would retire as soon as a replacement could be found, Dixon and a chamber committee started the hunt for a new chief.
Twenty-eight applicants sent resumes, Dixon said; the panel narrowed them to seven semifinalists.
After interviewing them, the group was narrowed to three.
In his application Lawrence, 50, emphasized the work he’s done in Sequim over the past decade, even as he commuted five days a week to Merrill Lynch’s office on Bainbridge Island.
He organized the Clallam County United Way’s Sequim campaign in 2003 and 2004, cofounded the Sequim Education Foundation, coordinated restoration of the Sequim Food Bank, coached youth soccer and served as president of the Sunrise Rotary Club, among other things.
“He showed his ability to take hold of many projects,” Dixon said.
Still, she said, he has no marketing skills.
“We think he can learn them. He has the skill to keep on learning.”
