Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 412

Great reviews follow Kimble to Chandler job CHANDLER REPUBLIC An edition of The Arizona Republic A Gannett newspaper John Zidich President and Publisher Michael Ryan Vice President I General Manager, Community Newspapers, 602-444-5810, mryanrepublicmedia.com Nicole Carroll, Executive Editor, 602-444-8797, nicole.carrollarizonarepublic.com Paul Maryniak, Community Editor, 602-444-7785, paul.maryniakarizonarepublic.com Tom Spratt, Chandler Editor, 602-444-7956, tom.sprattarizonarepublic.com Diane Rutherford, Community Relations, 602-444-7825, drutherfordrepublicmedia.com TO ADVERTISE: Contact Amber Schwieger, 5aes Manager, 602-444-7940 aschwiegerrepublicmedia.com TO SUBSCRIBE: 602-444-1000 CONTACT US: 602-444-6397 106 E. Baseline Road, Mesa, AZ 85210 E-mail individual reporters or editors at: firstname.lastnamearizonarepublic.com CORRECTIONS: Call 602-444-NEWS (6397) Or e-mail Chandler Editor Tom Spratt iV Terri Kimble is known to celebrate successes by ringing a bell she keeps in her office. TOM TINGLETHE REPUBLIC 10 OFF Computer Services WHILE SUPPLIES LAST rlSl She's set to become leader of Chamber of Commerce By Cathryn Creno The Republic a2central.c0m Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio is accustomed to having strangers contact him. But he said the first call from Terri Kimble was in a class of its own. "She said she was the new president of the Ahwatukee chamber.

Then she told me she needed me to come up with $30,000 for fireworks," he recalled. The deadline to have enough money for Ahwatukee's 2009 Red, White and Boom Independence Day celebration was a few weeks away. Kimble had just been hired and one of the fir st things she discovered was that the chamber wasn't even close to having enough money for the show. DiCiccio said he, Kimble and other community leaders divided the fundraising task, some going after small contributors and others phoning potential donors who could give $1,000 and up. The party went on as planned.

"I found out Terri Kimble is someone you just can't say no to," DiCiccio said. "The reason you can't say no is because of her own hard work. She expects you to get things done because she gets things done." Kimble is leaving the Ahwatukee chamber on July 5 for a similar but larger job at the Chandler Chamber of Commerce. She leaves an impressive track record in Ahwatukee. Since spring 2009, the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce membership has increased to 560, from 311, and is expected to continue to rise with a new policy that allows chamber supporters who don't own companies to join for $100 annually.

Kimble moved the chamber's headquarters from an isolated spot north of Elliot Road to a business and population hub near Ray Road and 36th Street, and participants say she has made monthly networking meetings more fun. She also has expanded the chamber's visibility this year by leading the East Val-' ley Chamber of Commerce Alliance and by joining the heads of 19 other Arizona chambers in Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to tackle immigration and address the issues of illegal immigrants already in the United States. "The woman has a work ethic," said Harvey Gibson, president of the Ahwatukee chamber's board. "She has made big, all- GRIZZLE'S FLOORING, INC. Licensed bonded Arizona License Number ROC201212 2D L6 4J.

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Installed encompassing changes to the chamber. She has raised awareness of the chamber. People now see the chamber as a very important part of the community." She says she will miss Ahwatukee, where she lives with her husband, George, but is thrilled with the chance for a bigger challenge. "It will be very difficult to walk out of here," she said. "George and I don't have family here.

The people we have met in Ahwatukee have become our family. It's great to walk into a restaurant or grocery store and know everyone there." But Chandler is a high-tech center representatives from Intel sit on the Chandler chamber board with a thriving downtown and a City Hall that has a laser focus on attracting new businesses of all types and sizes, Kimble said. She hesitates to say too much about her goals for the new position. After all, she is not there yet. She calls Chandler a great place to start a new business or expand an existing one.

"Chandler has the lowest taxes in the East Valley, so if someone wants to relocate their business, Chandler is the place," Kimble said. It's unclear whether the staff at the Ahwatukee chamber will miss a large cowbell that Kimble brought with her from her previous job leading the Elk Rapids Chamber of Commerce in Michigan. Kimble loved to ring the bell to celebrate any success a new member's application, the completion of a project, a problem solved. "She is really proud of that bell," Fierro said. 'The board is going to have no easy, task filling her shoes." ENGINEERED WOOD CLEARANCE Starting $4.99 tf.

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