The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce will be pausing most of its operations this month while it moves out of its downtown office.
The 110-year-old business advocacy group has yet to reveal the location of its new headquarters.
“For the month of December, most of our customary programming will be on pause,” said Chamber COO Andrea Copeland in a statement. “Our staff will focus on being ready to serve you from our new offices in January.”
The 3,000-square-foot office the Chamber is vacating at 209 Fifth St. NE has been up for sale for several months, a move the organization has been considering for years, according to Sasha Tripp, chair of the Chamber board of directors.
No new tenant has been announced.
“This is an exciting milestone for our Chamber,” said Tripp in a statement. “With the sale of our downtown building, we are poised to invest in a new era of business advocacy for Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the surrounding region.”
Staff began to relocate Thursday.
The Chamber pledged to share more information once plans are finalized regarding the sale of the Fifth Street building and the start of its new lease.
“Team Chamber has put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes this year, and we look forward to a fantastic year of growth and success in 2025,” Chamber Board Vice Chair Jonathan Chasen, set to replace Tripp as chair on Jan. 1, said in a statement.
Following the move, the next step for the group will be to bring on a new leader to serve as president and CEO. The Chamber has been without a director since Natalie Masri stepped down from the position last December, after working for only seven months, claiming she wasn’t the “right fit.”
After bringing on Todd Jorgenson, the managing director and principal of Greensboro, North Carolina-based Jorgenson Consulting, to search for a new president, other members of the board and staff stepped up to fill various positions and keep running business as usual.
Jorgenson previously helped recruit Masri after the departure of Elizabeth Cromwell in February after roughly four years at the head of the organization.
“With the building sale and relocation complete, the CEO will have a smooth runway,” according to Chasen.
Despite being closed for the month of December, the Chamber still has a few events lined up, such as the Free Enterprise Forum Pancakes & Politics breakfast on Dec. 9 and the Business Women’s Round Table Holiday Luncheon at Farmington on Dec. 19.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com