WICKER PARK — Effective Jan. 9, Pamela Maass will serve as the executive director of the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, the business organization's board of directors announced Thursday.
Maass, who brings ten years of business development, management, sales and customer service experience to the role, replaces current Interim Executive Director Kimberly Bares, who has been leading the member-led group since Erik Harmon's departure last April.
Formerly Pamela McNeal, Maass currently serves as the chamber's board president, a role she has held since last January and will step down from, to be replaced in the interim by the board's vice president David Stearns until a new president is appointed by the 12-member board.
“Pamela brings the experience, dedication and community knowledge that the Chamber was looking for to grow and expand its value and influence moving forward,” Stearns said in a news release.
Maass, who as a senior membership advisor for Chicago Athletic Clubs, helped to expand the fitness chain from four to eight clubs in her eight year tenure. She also developed "company-wide improvements and collaborated with individuals, business owners and numerous organizations throughout Chicago," the board said.
In addition to serving as president of the chamber's board, Maass also chaired the chamber's events and marketing committee — an experience that Stearns said will be especially valuable to the 300-plus chamber members as the group plans events, promotions and initiatives for neighborhood businesses and residents in 2017.
“I've always been passionate about the WPB [Wicker Park Bucktown] neighborhoods and I am honored to bring my four years of experience with [the chamber] to this new role. It will be an exciting start to 2017 as we activate our community's input with the Master Plan update," Maass said, referring to a long term vision for the area that is being implemented with community input.
Maass said she "looks forward to further collaborations with our neighboring communities to continually improve the quality of life for our residents and to promote commerce for the unique businesses that call Wicker Park Bucktown home."
Along with serving its business community members, the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce is also the sole service provider of Special Service Area No. 33, a volunteer-run, Mayor-appointed commission that oversees money collected by property taxes in the commercial district.
For more information on the chamber, visit wickerparkbucktown.com.
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