Stuart, who helped double membership in the nonprofit business advocacy organization during her tenure, said she is leaving to pursue career opportunities elsewhere.
“I really hate to lose her; personally, I tried to talk her out of quitting,” said Jessy T. Garza, chairman of the chamber’s board of directors. “She’s smart, she’s hard-working, she’s tough — she’s had to deal with some very, very tough issues. She knows how a chamber is supposed to operate. She understands that a chamber is more than just parades, festivals and ribbon cuttings; it’s about helping businesses succeed in a community.”
Stuart said she has enjoyed working in Beeville and hopes she has helped improve the business community.
“I loved serving the business community,” she said. “Historically, the sole mission of chambers of commerce was to champion business interests and I felt a lot of passion for the cause — for doing everything I could to help businesses not only survive but thrive — during my tenure here.”
Garza attributed much of the chamber’s growth in the past three years to Stuart.
A chamber membership drive in July 2007 swelled the business advocacy organization to more than 350 members.
“We increased our membership by more than 100 new businesses,” said Karl Arnst, who was chairman of the chamber’s board of directors in 2007 and was serving on the board when Stuart was hired in February 2006. “Pam has been instrumental to the growth and development of the chamber and leaves the chamber stronger and better positioned for the challenges of the future.”
Stuart promised to kiss a pig if the membership drive was a success. Days after the final tally was announced, she puckered up and planted a big one on a piglet.
The new chamber members were invited to show off their services and products in January 2008 during the chamber’s first-ever Prime Time Business Expo, which was Stuart’s idea.
Stuart also helped organize the annual Western Week Celebration in 2007 when the chamber was still in charge of putting on the community event.
“She did a lot for the business community in Bee County,” Arnst said.
Garza said he appreciated Stuart’s determination and drive, as well as her clear understanding of how a chamber could benefit local businesses and the community as a whole.
“Pam brought a lot of structure to the chamber, and she set clear, obtainable goals,” Garza said. “She is very focused and she believed the chamber should be very focused as well.”
One goal Stuart focused on was to get the chamber more involved in the community, Garza noted.
“She wanted the chamber to be more proactive, do more to help businesses,” he explained.
What better way to do that than to help schools do a better job of educating children, our future workforce and taxpayers, Garza said.
In recent months, Stuart has been instrumental in researching new methods of helping BISD deal with rampant truancy, which costs the school district thousands of dollars annually in state funding, Garza added.
He said Stuart discovered a successful truancy prevention program that has helped other school districts combat absenteeism — and she provided details of the program to BISD administrators.
The program, known as AIM, has significantly reduced truancy for Dallas ISD, Garza said.
Stuart invited AIM directors to visit Beeville recently and discuss the program with chamber members and Beeville ISD leaders.
“She took the initiative to look into the program and bring the people who developed it down to Beeville. It’s that kind of initiative that this community needs in a chamber president.”
But being proactive sometimes has its drawbacks.
Garza said Stuart was unfairly singled out for criticism when the chamber issued a position statement in the fall of 2008 asking its members to vote against a tax rate hike election proposed by the BISD.
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