MOORPARK : Chamber Director Leaves Post Today

The Moorpark Chamber of Commerce’s first executive director has resigned, but chamber members aren’t putting out the help wanted sign yet.

Carol Hunt will leave the nonprofit group today to take a higher-paying position as executive director at the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Hired in May, 1990, Hunt was the 85-year-old organization’s first full-time paid staff person.

Chamber members credit Hunt with giving their group more structure and direction by instituting an annual planning conference and setting up ongoing committees devoted to issues such as economic development and governmental relations.

Nevertheless, the group doesn’t have immediate plans to hire another executive director.

Although under Hunt’s direction membership in the chamber doubled from about 170 to 340, increasing the amount of membership fees, the chamber is struggling financially, members said.

Disappointing earnings on recent fund-raisers, such as last year’s July 4th celebration, combined with the drain of paying about $35,000 in salary and benefits to Hunt and another full-time salary to an administrative assistant, have not left much fat in the budget, board members said.

Delaying the hiring of another executive director will allow the chamber to get on better financial footing.

Until the group does decide to replace Hunt, members will be forced to take more responsibility for achieving the group’s main goals of luring new companies to Moorpark and working with City Hall to streamline the process for obtaining various building and business permits.

Before hiring an executive director, one of the chamber’s strengths was the high involvement of its members, said Linda Plak, who was board president at the time Hunt was hired.

Having an executive director allowed members to become complacent and get involved only in spurts, such as by volunteering to run a fund-raiser, Plak said.

Hunt has “helped us to grow up to become a real business chamber,” she said. But, “if anything, it grew a little too quickly.”