By B.C. Manion
The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce is seeking a new executive director.
Mary Adele Cluck, the former executive director, resigned on June 7, effective immediately.
Cluck said her mother has Alzheimer’s and now she will have more time to help make the living arrangements her mother needs. She said she also is a wedding officiant and plans to spend more time in her business, Marry Me Mary.
She said she will also be looking to continue to use her skills in the Wesley Chapel area and especially enjoys the marketing and event planning skills she has developed as the chamber’s executive director.
Jeff Novotny, the president of the chamber’s board of directors, said as the search is conducted for a permanent replacement, the board has named Hope Allen, the current sales and marketing manager, as the chamber’s interim executive director.
Allen has more than seven years of membership experience, according to a chamber news release. She previously was vice president of membership at the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, where she spearheaded strategic marketing plans to stimulate new membership and maintain existing members. She also worked for the Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of the Capital Area, both in Jackson, Miss.
Cluck served the chamber for many years and was a member of the chamber’s board before being appointed as the interim operations director in October 2011 and then as executive director in May 2012.
“Mary Adele brought us stability as the tough economy hit the entire Tampa Bay area and our local business community. We truly appreciate her past work and tireless dedication to our organization. We wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors. Her passion for the chamber and the greater Wesley Chapel community will be missed in our daily activities,” Novotny said, in a prepared statement, announcing Cluck’s resignation.
“The chamber, supported by our two staff members, committees and board, will continue to deliver quality programs and events. Although we will be in transition, everything is business as usual for our members and the community,” he added.
The chamber has some time to conduct its search because it doesn’t have a large event planned in the immediate future, Novotny said.
“Our goal is to find someone that can take the momentum we have put into place over the last few years and help guide us into our near-term and long-range future,” Novotny said.
The chamber’s members include more than 460 businesses and organizations.
