Chamber Executive Leaders Change

Burnside, Bailey, and Escareno Join Executive Committee

The executive committee of the Garden City Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors will see three new faces when it begins monthly meetings in January, 2010. The executive committee is comprised of the top elected volunteers of the organization and includes the Chamber board chair, chair-elect, two vice chairs and the Chamber treasurer. The Chamber president is a non-voting officer of the executive committee.

The new members on the executive committee are treasurer Joe Burnside with Western State Bank and vice-chairs Dustin Bailey with Golden Plains Credit Union and Phil Escareno with Black Hills Energy. Bailey is serving the last three months of 2009 on the executive committee replacing Alex Wallace of Wallace Electric who resigned earlier. These three new officers join 2010 board chair Scott Taylor with St. Catherine Hospital, 2010 chair-elect Deb Hays with Sunflower Electric Power Corporation and past chair, Neil Hawley with American Family Insurance Group.

The executive committee members were initially elected to the board of directors by the general membership of the Chamber and were then elected by their board peers at the November board meeting to the executive committee of the board. The executive committee works closely with the Chamber President in the interim between board meetings to discuss business of the Chamber and may make recommendations to the full board.

Burnside, Bailey and Escareno replace Don Linville with Lewis Hooper and Dick, LLC., Kathy Diehl with American State Bank & Trust and Alex Wallace of Wallace Electric. Linville was Chamber board chair in 2008.