By KEVIN NEVERS

The Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce is seeking to fill a brand-new position in its offices: that of managing director.

According to a classified ad placed in the March 20 edition of the Chesterton Tribune, the managing director would be “responsible for general management and coordination of all organizational activities, staff supervision, and planning to carry out the Chamber’s objectives.”

Although the managing director’s duties sound a lot like the executive director’s, they’re not, Chamber President Mark Chamberlain told the Chesterton Tribune last week. Instead, the Board of Directors approved the hire of a managing director to complement the activities of current Executive Director Bonnie Trout, the principal founder of the highly popular and successful European Market. “It was a proactive move” made in expectation of the near-term growth of the Chamber, he said. “We’re trying to anticipate some of the good things that are happening in Duneland.

For her part Trout said that she has no plans to leave the Chamber and that the position of managing director would be an entirely new post in addition to her own.

Chamberlain did concede that the managing director’s job description—at least as it appears in the classified ad—might appear to duplicate the executive director’s. But the Board “talked about it and decided not to get too hung up on job titles,” Chamberlain said. “We may re-work the job title to be more descriptive of what they’re really doing.”

“At this point,” Chamberlain emphasized, “it’s totally an additional position and we’re not going to replace anybody.”

Both the 2008 and 2009 Chamber budgets can accommodate the hire of a managing director in addition to the existing executive director, Chamberlain noted. After 2009, however, “the budget could be an issue,” he said, although “we’re pretty confident we’ll grow into the new position.”

Chamberlain said that the new position is in no way a reflection on Trout’s performance. On the contrary, the Chamber simply needs another staffer. “You barely have enough people to do the books, answer the phones, and go out and meet new businesses. Sooner or later you aren’t going to be able to service the clients.”

A division of labor between the executive director and the managing director would probably look something like this, Chamberlain ventured: the executive director would focus on the needs of existing clients with a view toward retention; the managing director would focus on outreach and economic development with a view toward new business. “We need to go to more regional meetings, more high level meetings with business and development,” he said. “That would be the managing director’s responsibility.”

“We’re just trying to be more efficient,” Chamberlain said. “We have some high expectations that some significant growth is coming and we’re trying to get ready for it. . . . I’ve had some good discussions with Bonnie and she’s very supportive and wants what’s good for the Chamber.”

Chamberlain noted that the Chamber’s bylaws did not need to be revised to create the position of managing director, as “staffing is not an issue of the bylaws.”

Chamberlain acknowledged that the classified ad may have troubled some people, particularly Chamber staffers. “Folks worry,” he said. “You announce a job opening and immediately everyone worries about who’s going to get fired. But the staff has been involved in the process. It’s definitely meant to be a plus.”

Posted 3/27/2008