Michelle Naylor is the new part-time head of special events at
the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. She is currently working on
the upcoming Taste of Morgan Hill.
Michelle Naylor is the new part-time head of special events at the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. She is currently working on the upcoming Taste of Morgan Hill.
She has many years experience volunteering for Morgan Hill and is eager to serve in this new role.
“We very excited to have her,” said Sunday Minnich, executive director of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. “She is really helping with the growing of our projects.”
Naylor has a diversified past, working in several different areas before starting her new role. She worked at a San Jose radio station for 20 years in advertising and marketing.
Naylor moved to Morgan Hill 15 years from San Jose.
“It made it easier to get involved with the community,” said Naylor.
She became involved with Independence Day Inc. (IDI) and helped organize the golf tournament to raise funds for July 4 festivities. She also helped out with Mushroom Mardi Gras, serving on the scholarship committee.
Her talents were not only spent volunteering for the city. Naylor worked on the Morgan Hill Times in advertising, working with downtown businesses for advertisement placements.
In 2000, Naylor’s husband received a transfer to Chicago for his job, and she was forced to cut her ties to the city.
“I had no idea when I would be back, so I had to leave Morgan Hill behind,” Naylor said.
As it turns out, Naylor would not be away from Morgan Hill long. After two years in Chicago she returned to Morgan Hill and returned to volunteering for the city.
Naylor took a job with the Chamber. There she worked as an ambassador and spent one year as the president. It was there that she learned of the vacancy in the special event planning in Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce following the resignation of Mitch Mariani
“I offered to take the position interim while they looked for someone else,” Naylor said.
The position was never filled, and the post was offered Naylor as a part time job, which she eagerly took.
“She is very creative and has added greatly to our events,” said Minnich.
Now Naylor hopes to draw on her past experience to help her in her new role.
“The first time is hard, but the transition has been smooth. I just have to get used to the computers, phones and the e-mail systems.” Naylor laughed as she talked about accidentally hanging up on a caller. Other than that the transitions has run smoothly. “I don’t mind sharing ways to improve. I would like to become more organized. It is my goal for the future.”
Naylor is currently working on the Taste of Morgan Hill. This is the first time that the Expo has been planned by the Chamber.
The Taste of Morgan Hill is an event run Sept. 27-28. It is designed to entertain the entire family and has tasty foods from many Morgan Hill restaurants as well as the food booths with out-of-town delicacies.
Drink vintage wines from local wineries are also on hand, and people can enjoy a wide variety of Micro-brewed and domestic beers. Shopping enthusiasts can stroll through the more than 150 fine arts and crafts booths or browse local downtown businesses displaying their merchandise in front of their stores.
Details on the Taste of Morgan Hill or on volunteering, call Sunday Minnich 779-9444, e-mail sm******@********ll.org or visit the Chamber’s website at www.morganhill.org.
