NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The North Manchester Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is pleased to announce the recent hire of Debra Pyrah as the Executive Director for the organization. Pyrah brings over twenty years of executive over site, marketing and business development skills to the organization. “The amount of impact that the chamber is committed to generating, paired with an extensive program of work, requires an executive director to have the skillset to hit the ground running,” said Elizabeth Smith, past-president and chair of the search committee. “The board is confident that Debra will be able to do just that.”
Pyrah is originally from Michigan and relocated to North Manchester a year ago. Her husband, Brad Pyrah, is a professor in the Business Department at Manchester University. Pyrah is currently completing the final course to earn her Associates in Business from Manchester University and is slated to begin as Executive Director for the North Manchester Chamber of Commerce on March 1.
“The Board of Directors would like to host a Meet the Director open-house in an effort to introduce the community to Debra,” said Sebrena Cline, Chair of the chamber board. “Debra’s 30 day, 60 day, and 1 year plan for the organization is truly outstanding and will grow the efforts of the chamber,” said Cline.
The Meet the Director open house will take place on Thursday, March 9, at the North Manchester Chamber office during normal business hours. Light refreshments will be offered throughout the day. Members of the community are encouraged to stop by at their leisure and meet Pyrah.
“I am honored to serve such a generous community,” said Pyrah. “The Program of Work outlined by the chamber board is rather aggressive and impressive at the same time and I am eager to dig in and get started.”
Anne Myers has been serving as interim director while the organization conducted an extensive staff search and completed the hiring process. “Anne, with the support of Jodi (Egner), has done a tremendous amount of work to maintain strong member-relations and pull off the highly anticipated annual dinner,” said Cline. “Anne operates with the highest level of excellence and the chamber has been honored to be the recipient of her leadership during the transition period.”
Of the numerous tasks and projects that Pyrah will be responsible for executing, the focus of the chamber is to support its members while serving the North Manchester community.
“We (the board of directors) are always looking for ways to develop and expand the impact of the chamber without forgetting to serve the residents of the town and of the county,” said Cline. “Debra has the ability to take the program of work and put it into action.”