Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce President and CEO John Horner expects to stay on as the organization’s full-time day-to-day operations leader into 2014, he said Tuesday.
Horner, the co-owner of Thinker Toys in Vineyard Town Center, was hired by the Chamber’s board of directors to serve in the position on an interim basis in April, when former President/CEO Chris Giusiana resigned. Horner was Vice President of the board at the time, but he has been on leave on that table since becoming the Chamber’s top paid staff person.
The board and Horner are in the midst of a six-month contract to keep him in the President/CEO’s seat until the end of December, after which time the two parties will talk about whether or not he will stay next year, according to Chamber Board President Rich Firato.
The board and members of the local business and nonprofit communities have been impressed with Horner’s work and his energy since he has been the nonprofit organization’s head of daily operations, Firato said.
“I’m hoping he stays on” after December, Firato said. If he doesn’t, that would present a “new challenge” to the Chamber in finding someone who is not only capable of handling the Chamber’s business operations, but also has the right personality to induce the collaboration among different community organizations that Horner has.
“So many things are gelling because we have the right personalities doing the job,” Firato said. “And it works. People are in tune to that. John has that personality where he does really well with that.”
For example, the Chamber’s cooperation with the Morgan Hill Downtown Association and the Santa Clara Valley Wineries Association have reached new heights since Horner became President/CEO, Firato said.
Plus, Horner has been intimately involved in the creation of new local programs such as a youth entrepreneurship program, and a small business education program.
The Chamber has gained 30 new members in the last three months, and the board has gained four new members who are deeply involved in the community since Horner was hired, Firato said.
The four new board members are Mushroom Mardi Gras Executive Director Sunday Minnich, former Mayor John Varela, Morgan Hill Unified School District Personnel Director Fawn Myers and local startup consultant Danielle Davenport.
For his part, Horner said he has enjoyed running the Chamber the last four months, and he will gladly stay in the President/CEO’s position if that’s the board’s desire. An official decision won’t be made until formal discussions between Horner and the board begin later this year.
“I feel like I’m making a difference, and I’m having fun, and they keep telling me they like the job I’m doing,” Horner said. “My expectation is I will keep doing it next year, but we haven’t had a formal agreement.
The Chamber is a private nonprofit business services organization. When Giusiana resigned, board members said they wanted to take the opportunity to expand those services offered locally and increase membership. They also wanted to cut costs, as the Chamber’s tax documents for 2012 reflected a loss of about $33,000 for the year.
There are currently about 430 members in the local Chamber.
“I’m very much enjoying energizing the business community,” Horner said. “Every day we ask, ‘How do we help the businesses be more successful?’”
