Washington Chamber names new event director

WASHINGTON — April Cuddeback has taken the reins as Event Director for the Washington Chamber of Commerce, the organization announced in its newsletter Tuesday.

Already highly involved in the community, Cuddeback is a secretary-treasurer of the Washington High School PTO, a leader in 4-H activities, an involved member of UP Church, a former health promotions coordinator for WCHC and the current manager of the School Nutrition Association of Iowa, another contracted position she intends to keep while serving her new role with the Chamber, working from home for both duties.

“I can work specifically on these events, but I’m not in the office every day, I’m just managing those events,” she said. “I wanted to be part of the community, but didn’t necessarily want to be tied down to an office at this point, because I work very well from home.”

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That’s not to say Cuddeback will be idle in the position. Quite the opposite, she will jump into the deep end with the spring craft fair a month away, and Ridiculous Days shortly after that.

Given her already substantial involvement in the community, the new event director said balancing priorities would be key.

“It is a full plate, but that’s why I like the aspect of being at home, because I can manage those things,” she said. “I’m kind of a night owl, so people will get emails from me at midnight, 1 o’clock, I can work around my schedule, get to the things I want to get to, and work when I need to.”

Chamber Director Michelle Redlinger said the event director’s position had been less than full-time for most of recent memory.

Thanks to that template, Cuddeback’s status as a contractor will have few disruptions for the organization’s structure. While she’ll manage most events for the chamber, some will fall to other staff, namely the legislative forums, the annual dinner, and Thursday Night Live series.

“Like a lot of other businesses, we were trying to be creative and solution-oriented and find the best person for the job, but also make sure the position was a good fit for her, too,” Redlinger said. “We tracked the amount of time that our event coordinator has put into each event, so we had that historical data … we would average that out, and created kind of a new solution to the open position. I would say April took on about 75% of the events.”

Cuddeback’s background in marketing is nothing to scoff at. She has a Bachelor of Science in the field from Iowa State University, and has handled such work throughout her career.

Redlinger said that gave her confidence in Cuddeback’s ability to handle the duties effectively, even as the position takes on a new form.

“The experience that came with April gave us a comfort level, that we were willing to modify the position and let her have the ability to manage it a little more creatively,” Redlinger said. “It would have been a little bit more of a challenge if we had someone that was new to event management, or someone that was new to the community.”

Getting up to speed will take a lot of organization, something Cuddeback said she excelled at. Her system relies on an array of spreadsheets, checklists and notes to keep several plates spinning at once.

The multitasking required is also nothing new for the event director, whose community involvement is already extensive. Cuddeback said working from home gave her the flexibility needed to juggle it all.

“I don’t feel like I’m never home,” she said. “But again, when I get home from a track meet tonight, I can pull out my computer and do a few more things, which works on my schedule … I have been seen at softball games taking Zoom calls, I’ll plug in my headphones, I’ll drag my computer and my hot spot along.

“It’s what I have figured out for me to be there for my kids as much as I want to be. Their time with me is short.”

Asked why Chamber work was worth adding to an already-filled plate, Cuddeback said she was excited about the role in the city she calls home. The position promises to get her engaged with community members she’d otherwise fall out of touch with, and to stay in touch with the city she calls home.

"I constantly tell my kids how fortunate they are to grow up in a small town,“ she said. ”They know the people in town … and know how genuinely people care about you not as a number or a patient, or a client, but as a person.“

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com