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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- The search for a new leader at the Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce is over.
The Chamber Board of Directors announced Tuesday morning that current Chamber Office Manager Sandra Williams will be the new Executive Director of the organization.
Williams' first day in her new position will be October 1.
Alisa Kigar has been on the job almost eight years. She announced her resignation in July.
Williams was chosen from a field of 33 applicants.
She's been Office Manager of the Chamber for two-and-a-half years, and she told KTVO that will give her a big head start as she takes over as Executive Director.
"It's probably taken a good two years to, you know, really get my feet on the ground and get to know membership and just a lot of the various aspects of the job, so that's going to help, I think, a lot," said Williams.
Williams said she is looking forward to her new role and additional responsibilities.
"I am excited! I just want to continue doing what the Chamber does, meeting people's expectations in a greater way than they expect (laughter). So, just promoting the community," said Williams.
Before becoming Office Manager, Williams briefly managed the former Hogg's Wild Bar-B-Q in Kirksville.
Her previous careers have included three years of teaching home economics at Kirksville R-3 Schools and working in the office at the Adair County Health Department for nine years.
Williams hold a bachelors degree from Northeast Missouri State University (now called Truman State University) and a Master of Business Administration from William Woods University.
She is a native of Novinger, and she and her husband, John, now live in Greentop.
Kigar is leaving to take a job in the Marketing Department at Scotland County Memorial Hospital in Memphis.
She told KTVO the Chamber job requires quite a bit more than 40 hours a week, and with her son starting school this fall in Memphis and her daughter starting school next fall, she needed a job where her evenings would be free for homework and school activities.
Kigar’s last day at the Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce will be in mid to late October. Her first day on the job at the hospital in Memphis is November 2.
