This week the Ottumwa Chamber of Commerce announced Timothy Tracy as the new director. Tracy comes to Ottumwa with fifteen years of chamber experience.

"One of the things we're looking for is to bring somebody in who will be here for awhile. Will put down roots in the community and really become part of the community, and tim has expressed a desire to do that," said Ottumwa Chamber Office Manager Louise Davis.

Tacy isn't new to Iowa. He grew up in Des Moines and his parents are from Ottumwa. Tracy has also served as President of the Oskaloosa Chamber.

"The way I look at Chambers of Commerce is that they make sure that there's a good solid economic base and then a lot of quality life gets built on top of that base," said Tracy.

Tracy is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organizational Management, which Louise Davis said adds a lot of value to his impressive professional background.

"We want the community to know we bring someone here that'll come with some fresh ideas, who will come in with some clear expectations of what the chamber of commerce can be in the community," said Davis.

"Ive always tried to be innovative and anticipate what the needs of the business community are, especially the small business person because in reality most chambers are 80 percent small business," said Tracy.

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