Cary Grove chamber leader to take over in Barrington

Suzanne Corr will switch from leading the Cary Grove Area Chamber of Commerce to the Barrington Area Chamber.

Corr has been hired as the acting president of the Barrington chamber starting this week. She will help manage the transitional phase to new leadership and will officially assume the position of president and CEO in December.

Corr replaces Janet Meyer, who retired from leading the Barrington chamber in June.

Corr comes to Barrington from Cary, where she served as executive director for nine years. During that time, she more than doubled that chamber’s membership to more than 500 members, making Cary Grove the third-largest chamber in McHenry County, according to a statement. She will continue to serve the Cary Grove chamber temporarily during the transitional period.

During the transitional phase in Barrington, she will implement a staff and operational restructuring in order to enhance the efficiency of operations and the value of membership benefits, according to the executive board at the Barrington chamber. She will focus on adding new programs and services geared to provide new opportunities for members to network, market and grow their businesses.

Prior to her chamber experience, Corr was a senior account representative for Glendale Communications, a public relations agency in Barrington, where for 12 years she helped develop public relations and marketing programs and handled local and national media relations. She was the first marketing communications manager appointed to the law firm of Winston & Strawn, a large Chicago law firm, where she developed firm and practice brochures, and an internal employee newsletter, writing articles profiling legal departments and attorneys such as Dan Webb and Jim Thompson and many others.

Corr started her career in medical public relations. She was a public relations assistant at Michael Reese Hospital. Corr then became the assistant public relations manager for the Evanston Hospital Corp., and later assistant marketing communications manager for a division of Baxter Healthcare.

Corr has been a columnist for the Daily Herald newspaper. She has written and produced hundreds of pieces and developed numerous marketing and promotional programs that have helped hundreds of businesses expand their awareness, market their products and services, and impact their bottom line.

Meanwhile, Lisa Scoville has resigned her position as chairman of the Barrington board to focus on the growing demands of her job. She played an important role in hiring Corr, according to executive board members.

Char Neault of Barrington Bank & Trust, current BACC board treasurer, will serve as acting chairman through 2013.