Othello Chamber of Commerce looking for new manager
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 2 months AGO
Othello Chamber of Commerce president Bob Richardson (right) and MC Chris Dorrow talk to the crowd during the 2020 Chamber banquet in February. Richardson said the Chamber has been growing under the direction of manager Sharon Skorick, a trend the Chamber managers want to keep going after Skorick retires in February.
Courtesy photo
Othello Mayor Shawn Logan updates Othello Chamber of Commerce members on city projects during the 2020 Chamber banquet in February. Chamber manager Sharon Skorick has announced her retirement, and the Chamber's board is looking for a replacement.
Othello Chamber manager Sharon Skorick has announced her retirement, effective at the end of Feburary.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | January 20, 2021 1:00 AM
OTHELLO — Othello Chamber of Commerce directors are looking for a new manager, as current manager Sharon Skorick has announced her retirement, effective Feb. 28.
Skorick has been manager for about two years.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the job, and that’s why I took it,” she said.
Skorick is a longtime Othello resident.
“I’ve been here 28 years,” she said. “I’ve always been involved in the community.”
The chamber job gave her a chance to contribute to Othello, she said, but she gave credit to her husband and family for their assistance. The position also helped family. For instance, her grandchildren needed community service hours for a school project last month, so they helped take down the chamber’s Christmas lights, she said.
The chamber sponsors the July 4 celebration, the Farmers Market each summer and the annual Chamber banquet each fall. Othello Chamber President Bob Richardson said the organization added an event in the fall, in which participants visited businesses around town.
“Sharon has done a really good job of growing membership,” Richardson said. “We just want to continue on that momentum that she started.”
Richardson said chamber board members hope to increase the number of events as well as membership, when conditions allow.
“Bring more to Othello for citizens, and our business owners.”
Skorick said experimentation was part of her job, such as the chamber’s sponsorship of big-screen Seattle Seahawks games in fall 2019.
“Just trying different things,” she said.
The July 4, 2019, celebration was among the biggest ever, she said, and she expected 2020 to be even bigger, but the celebration was derailed by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I was so disappointed we couldn’t do Fourth of July,” she said.
The chamber has some continuing projects underway, Skorick said. She applied for and received a grant from Farm Credit Services, which will be used to buy a reader board. The chamber will be working with other organizations, including Othello Rotary, on that project.
But Skorick said it’s time for her to leave. She and her husband plan to spend the next year traveling, coronavirus permitting, she said.
“I’ve made amazing friends, amazing contacts. I’m going to miss it,” Skorick said. “I’m ready to move on, but I will miss it.”
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