Elliot Moses undoubtedly has some constructive ideas about what he'd like the Squamish Chamber of Commerce to achieve in 2011, but he's keeping them under wraps for now.
After all, Moses - who worked for various federal ministers in Ottawa in the early 1990s and helped found Whistler Eco Tours 10 years ago -is set to go solo in the job as Chamber manager on March 1. For now, he's being mentored by outgoing manager Kenny Music.
What's more, the manager's role at the Chamber is meant to be primarily an administrative one. The "vision" part of the job is mostly up to the board of directors, led by current president Maurice Freitag.
"I think I want to keep it pretty low-key right now. I'm just in transition and I don't want to be too controversial," Moses said on Tuesday (Feb. 8). "I just want to be the voice of local business, get the pulse of the local economy and help anyone who wants to get connected with local business."
Moses has lived in Squamish for the past seven years and is married with two children - Daniel, 4, and Matthew, 2 - with "a player to be named later" on the way in May. He said he recently sold his interest in Whistler Eco Tours to his brother and former business partner and was "looking for a bit of a change" when the Chamber manager's job came up.
Freitag, who announced Moses' hiring at the Chamber's President's Gala on Jan. 29, said a committee that included directors Denise Jimmo of Training Innovations, Denise Imbeau of Greg Gardner GM and himself started the process of hiring a new manager 2 months ago after Music decided to pursue other opportunities. Music has been Chamber manager for the past 14 months and for a six-month maternity leave before that.
After narrowing down the field, the group asked the three finalists to perform a task over a 30-hour period. Moses did the most complete job of meeting the committee's specifications, Freitag said
The job of managing an organization with approximately 500 members is a demanding one, Freitag said. In addition to running the Chamber's day-to-day affairs, there are early morning and nighttime meetings, out-of-town conferences and the like. But he said he thinks Moses is up to the task.
"He has a good general knowledge of the Squamish community and the ability to perform tasks and complete assignments on time," Freitag said of Moses.
"He's very personable, very diplomatic. He seemed very grounded in the board interview. There were eight of us in the formal interview process and he seemed like he really held himself well in a group."
Moses' experience at running a business in the corridor, and in political circles, were also considered assets.
"We saw that as an asset in building our relationships with the municipal, provincial and federal governments," Freitag said.
Moses said he worked in a few different offices during his time in Ottawa, including those that dealt with veteran's affairs, external affairs and the Canada Revenue Agency.
"I think having been a liaison between government and business will translate over well to working for an organization on the business side and helping to bring the two together," he said.
Freitag said the local economy is a challenge for 2011 and beyond - he's projecting zero per cent growth for this year. "It's scary in some ways," he said.
"The other key challenge is member engagement, and our relationship with the District of Squamish has been a bit of a challenge," Freitag said. "There are just no clear lines of communication, not just from the Chamber side but from the district's side."
Moses said he sees part of the Chamber's job as "enhancing the quality of life in the community, whether it be through economic growth and diversification or through continually supporting small businesses."
Freitag thanked Music for helping to mentor his successor during the transition period. Music, Freitag said, has told Chamber officials that after he's gone, they can phone him anytime if they have questions.
"We're really grateful to have had Kenny as our manager, always going above and beyond to do what's right for the members," Freitag said, "and just his absolute professionalism in mentoring Elliot through the transition."
