[Vision2020] New Director Has Big Plans for Moscow Chamber

[Darrell Keim]

Tom:  Not knowing Mr. Hacker, I have no idea as to his potential as a
director.  But I do agree with his quote "We have good programs, we
have good staff and we have a great board."  The Chamber has some
major challenges, but the board and staff are working hard to solve
them.  I wish him well in his new endeavor, and I wish the Chamber
well as it works for the good of Moscow businesses.

2009/1/16 Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>:
> Mr. Darrel Keim:  If you would be so kind as to comment on this article,
> and more particularly) Steve Hacker's potential as a director of the
> Moscow Chamber of Commerce, it would be sincerely appreciated.
>
> Courtesy of today's (January 16, 2009) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> New director has big plans for Moscow chamber
>
> Hacker hopes to bring new elements to local economy
>
> By Tara Roberts Daily News staff writer
> January 16, 2009
>
> -------------------
>
> Steve Hacker
> http://www.dnews.com/images/2948964.jpg
>
> -------------------
>
> Steve Hacker's first mission as the new Moscow Chamber of Commerce
> executive director is to meet as many members of the local business
> community as possible.
>
> "By meeting them, that means listening to them," he said.
>
> Hacker, 37, was named to the post earlier this week and Thursday was his
> first day on the job. He's still getting his bearings but is eager to hear
> how people want him to lead the chamber.
>
> Hacker said he will build his long-term goals based on what he hears from
> chamber members in the coming weeks.
>
> One big idea he would like to pursue is to create "two viable, long-term,
> sustainable economies" for Moscow. He knows the University of Idaho makes
> up much of the city's lifeblood but he would like to add something else.
>
> He doesn't yet know what that will be, but he plans to base it on "what
> the business community sees that as."
>
> Hacker said he also would like to continue some of the chamber's current
> successful programs, but declined to list any specifically.
>
> "We have good programs, we have good staff and we have a great board, and
> I'm going to let them guide me," he said.
>
> Hacker replaces Darrell Keim, who left the chamber in October. He is the
> fourth director in less than two years.
>
> Hacker said he has plans to stick with the post.
>
> "We've made a commitment to our children that this is where they're going
> to grow up," he said. "You'd almost have to drag me away."
>
> Hacker, his wife, Traci, and their three children moved to town in June,
> but the Tennessee native already had a history with Moscow.
>
> He earned his master's degree in forest resources at the University of
> Idaho in 2004. He chose the school because he'd never been to the
> Northwest before and wanted to go somewhere new that offered the fishing,
> hunting and outdoor experiences he loves.
>
> He returned to Knoxville, Tenn., to work as an area forester for the state
> of Tennessee. The Hackers soon realized they wanted to settle somewhere
> else when their children started commenting on the number of police sirens
> they could hear in their neighborhood.
>
> They wanted a safe place that still offered a variety of cultural
> experiences, and Moscow was "a great fit."
>
> "Your kids can play outside and you don't have to worry about them so
> much," he said.
>
> Hacker previously worked as a traveling business manager for his brother's
> company, Pro Paintless, a national company that helps people whose
> vehicles are damaged in severe hailstorms. He searched for a permanent, in-
> town job and was pleased to find the chamber position.
>
> "I wanted an opportunity that would allow us to get involved in the
> community," he said.
>
> Hacker also has worked in financial management and hospital accounts
> management and was a board member for his local Boys and Girls Clubs of
> America. He said his "melting pot of experience" in a variety of
> industries - public, private and nonprofit - will help him in his new job.
>
> Leading the chamber will be much like working for other public entities,
> he said.
>
> "Every time you go out there you have to represent the Chamber of
> Commerce," he said.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "For a lapsed Lutheran born-again Buddhist pan-Humanist Universalist
> Unitarian Wiccan Agnostic like myself there's really no reason ever to go
> to work."
>
> - Roy Zimmerman
>
>
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