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Community Viewpoints: WACC introduces new chamber director
Williamsburg Area Chamber of Commerce
Mar. 8, 2023 1:45 pm
The Williamsburg Area Chamber of Commerce (WACC) is excited to announce the hiring of a chamber director. Erin Eichhorn joined the organization this month as a proud 25-year resident of Williamsburg with an extensive history of volunteer work. The WACC has operated without a director since mid-2020, and we are thrilled to again have a director in place to continue the growth of the organization. Erin will be meeting and greeting area businesses over the coming weeks, but until then, she shares the following introduction.
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My name is Erin Eichhorn and I am the new director of the Williamsburg Area Chamber of Commerce. My husband Chris and I have lived in Williamsburg for 25 years. We have four children, Katie (Allyn and daughter Hadley), Grace, Kendra and John. Williamsburg has been a wonderful place to raise our family. We love the small town atmosphere, friendly people, school district, businesses and all of the amenities Williamsburg has to offer.
After graduating from Marshall University in West Virginia, I worked at the National 4-H Center in Washington, D.C., as a youth development specialist until I married and moved to Hawaii where I was the student activities coordinator at Molokai High School. After our first child was born, my husband transferred to Holden’s Foundation Seeds in Williamsburg and I started my career as a stay-at-home mom and pseudo professional volunteer. In recent years I have been a sub associate at Williamsburg High School and my husband now works for Wyffels Hybrids.
Volunteering, helping others, supporting our school district and community have all been passions for me. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of many local organizations such as Williamsburg Community Preschool, PALS at Mary Welsh Elementary, Williamsburg Music Association, WHS Booster Club, L.O.V.E. Network, St. Mary Catholic Church, Girl Scouts, WHS School Advisory Council and Iowa County 4-H where I’ve been a leader for the Parnell Pepper 4-H Club for the past 15 years.
When I think back to all of my experiences with my volunteer work, the highlight has been working with so many amazing and dedicated parents, students, business owners and school staff members. We are very fortunate in Williamsburg to have such an active and caring community and businesses that are interested in supporting our youth and nonprofit organizations.
I am very excited for my new adventure and I look forward to continuing to serve our community in a new capacity. My first goal will be to reach out and meet with our business owners and learn how the Chamber can best support them, as well as our community organizations, schools, etc. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas for our community.
Along with the addition of a new director, the WACC board has planned a full calendar of events and new promotions for this year; including our first networking event of the year, Business After Hours. This event will be held at the Next Home Corridor office on Thursday, March 30, from 5-7 p.m. Please follow us on Facebook for additional details.
(Leaders through Iowa County have been asked to share updates and outlooks for their organizations as they relate to the communities they serve in this weekly column. Our hope is to provide a forum for towns to share progress and success from different viewpoints. We are still in the process of scheduling columnists and will continue reaching out to connect with school, municipal, economic, tourism, youth and other community leaders. If you are interested in taking part, please contact Melinda Wichmann, editor, Hometown Current, at (319) 654-4740 or email Melinda.Wichmann@Southeastiowaunion.com.)