Big news today from the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce! After a two-month search, the Chamber just announced to members that they’ve hired a new president to replace Janet Meyer who retired from the job in June. Her name is Suzanne Corr and she’s already very familiar with the area, having spent the past 9 years as the Executive Director of the Cary Grove Area Chamber of Commerce.
Suzanne Corr is the third Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce president in its 45-year history, following the footsteps of both Janet Meyer who served for 13 years and Carol Beese, the Chamber’s first president since its founding in 1968.
Suzanne will work as the Acting President of the Chamber starting this week to help manage the transitional phase to new leadership. She will officially assume the position of President and CEO in December.
During the transitional phase, Suzanne says she will implement a staff and operational restructuring in order to enhance the efficiency of operations and the value of membership benefits. She will also be adding new programs and services focused on providing new opportunities for members to network, market and grow their businesses.
(Just in case it’s worth noting here, I’m in the middle of my third year serving on the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors – so I’m a big fan of the work the BACC does for our community. I’m excited about this new era of leadership for the Chamber and I look forward to getting to know and work with Suzanne Corr in the weeks, months and years ahead.)
Here is the message the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce sent to its membership today with details about Suzanne Corr’s new role in Barrington…
“Corr comes to Barrington from the Cary Grove Area Chamber of Commerce where she has served as Executive Director for nine years. During that time she has more than doubled that Chamber’s membership to over 500 members, making Cary Grove the third- largest Chamber in McHenry County, added programs and services for members, spearheaded community programs and more. She will continue to serve the Cary Grove Chamber temporarily during the transitional period.
Prior to her Chamber experience, Corr was a Senior Account Representative for Glendale Communications, a public relations agency in Barrington, where for 12 years she helped develop public relations and marketing programs and handled local and national media relations for a variety of clients. She was the first Marketing Communications Manager ever appointed to the law firm of Winston & Strawn, one of Chicago’s largest law firms, where she developed their first firm and practice brochures, and their first internal employee newsletter, writing articles which profiled legal departments and activities and top attorneys such as Dan Webb, Jim Thompson and many others.
Corr started her career in medical public relations. She was a public relations assistant at Michael Reese Hospital at a time when the facility was a leading healthcare institution. Corr then became the Assistant Public Relations Manager for the Evanston Hospital Corporation and later Assistant Marketing Communications Manager for a division of Baxter Healthcare.
Corr has been a columnist for the Daily Herald and the Northwest Herald newspapers. She has written and produced hundreds of publications, and developed numerous marketing and promotional programs that have helped hundreds of businesses expand their awareness, market their products and services, and impact their bottom line. We are looking forward to the experience and new ideas Suzanne Corr will bring to our Chamber and to our membership.
Also in regards to Chamber leadership: after playing an important role in securing our new President and CEO, Lisa Scoville has resigned her position as Chairman of the Board to focus on the growing demands of her job. We appreciate the time and effort Lisa dedicated to moving the Chamber into its next phase and look forward to working with her as a Chamber member. Thank you, Lisa!
The Executive Board is pleased to announce that Char Neault of Barrington Bank & Trust, current Board Treasurer, has agreed to also serve as the BACC’s Acting Chairman through 2013.”
To follow the latest updates from the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, CLICK HERE to connect with them on Facebook or find their website at BarringtonChamber.com.
We also publish a regular series highlighting Chamber member businesses here at 365Barringoton.com called The 365 Barrington Business Beat. CLICK HERE to catch up on some recent Business Beat reading and stay tuned for more features we have in the works that we’ll be publishing in the coming weeks right here at 365Barrington.com.
