St. Charles Chamber gets new president from Hampshire

The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce has hired a new chief executive officer and president.

Stacey Ekstrom will start the job Dec. 12. Members can meet her at the chamber's holiday party Thursday at the Dunham Woods Riding Club in Wayne.

Ekstrom has been executive director of the Hampshire Area Chamber of Commerce the last five years.

She replaces Lori Hewitt, who worked for the chamber for nine years. Hewitt left in October to become development director for Court-Appointed Special Advocates Kane County.

Ekstrom is familiar with the Tri-Cities area, having grown up in Geneva. She lives in Sycamore. She obtained her bachelor's degree in marketing from Eastern Illinois University.

Ekstrom has already presented a strategic plan to the chamber's board of directors, but didn't want to elaborate since she hasn't started her new duties and the board still has to consider her suggestions.

“I'm trying to incorporate some new programs to increase the value for chamber members,” Ekstrom said.

Her other goals include improving retention and recruitment of chamber members, and increasing the chamber's involvement with other community organizations.

The St. Charles chamber has about 775 members, triple that of the Hampshire Area chamber.