Rhea named new chamber of commerce director

Cheryl Rhea. photo by Jim Cornelius Cheryl Rhea has taken the reins as Executive Director of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. She replaces Ric Nowak, who stepped down from the post effective this month.

Chamber board member Peter Storton made the announcement during the organization's annual auction fund-raiser on Friday, September 24.

"I think we've got a real jewel," Storton told the membership.

Rhea told The Nugget she is excited about the "opportunity to use my background and work with the community of Sisters."

Her background includes a 20-year career in various aspects of the tourism and hospitality industries. She spent 10 years with Sunriver Resort in sales and convention organization roles and has worked for Inn of the Seventh Mountain.

She is currently race director for the AttaBoy 300 dog-sled race that stages in Sisters during the winter. That is a position she will continue to hold.

Rhea, who has two daughters in high school in Sisters, is happy to be moving into the community.

"I spend a lot of time at sporting events," she said. "I've been very impressed with the schools."

As executive director of the chamber, Rhea hopes to expand the organization's revenue base, which she noted is currently "pretty heavily dependent on events."

Noting that the chamber is partially funded through room tax revenues, she said it makes sense for the chamber to actively seek to boost occupancy during the winter off-season.

That means bringing her marketing expertise and contacts to bear on attracting small business groups to Sisters during the winter for retreats and conferences that don't require extensive facilities.

"Small meetings is a huge market and they don't need a lot of space," Rhea said. "It would obviously be a cooperative effort with the hoteliers in the area."

Rhea started work on Monday, September 27.