Big Idea

• Chino Valley Chamber President Lorette Stewart has stepped down from her position
• Several local Chamber professionals have agreed to help
• John Courtis has agreed to be the Interim Volunteer Director
• Read more...

Chino Valley Chamber volunteers step up as Stewart steps down after 6 years

CHINO VALLEY, AZ- The following is an update from the Chino Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Board Chair, Max Bledsoe:

Good morning, my fellow Chino Valley Area Chamber of Commerce members.  As most of you already know, Lorette Stewart has stepped down from her position as President of our Chamber. I want to thank Lorette for her years of service, and I am especially appreciative of her handoff with volumes of pertinent information to help us succeed in the future. Please join me in wishing Lorette all the very best in her next endeavor.

In the interim, we have help from some local Chamber professionals. Sheri Heiney, President and CEO of the Prescott Chamber of Commerce, has stepped in to offer not only her 20-plus years of personal expertise in Chamber operations but her own team to assist us in managing membership files, financial analysis, short-term and long-term financial planning, bylaws adherence, and board development. 

In addition, John Courtis, the retired Executive Director of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce (see bio below) has offered to be our Interim Volunteer Director. John will be the face of the Chino Valley Area Chamber of Commerce while we seek out Lorette's replacement.

These are exciting times for the Chino Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and our future is bright. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact John or myself. In the meantime, let's all embrace these changes, and work together for a better Chino Valley.

Thank you,

Max Bledsoe,
Chair, Chino Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

Please call 928-636-2493 or visit www.chinovalley.org for more information.

John Courtis Statement:

“This is an exciting time for the Chino Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and the Chino Valley community as a whole,” says Courtis. “I look forward to talking with Town leadership and the business community. Please feel free to stop in our Chamber office, I will be here each and every Tuesday and Thursday during business hours and available any time via cell phone at 928-920-7390.”

The Chamber offices will be staffed by board members and volunteers throughout the week.

John Courtis Bio:

John Courtis, 68, is the retired Executive Director of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce. He started his sales and marketing career 50 years ago at his hometown paper, the Independent, Press-Telegram in Long Beach. CA. 

Courtis was on the sales and marketing teams of big newspapers like the Los Angeles Times and the Kansas City Star and was the General Manager of small weekly papers like the Dandy Dime in Tucson, the Super Shopper in Yuma, and the Prescott Sun Shopper. His media consulting career took him to Pittsburgh, Chattanooga, Panama City, Louisville, Marysville, Memphis, and Oklahoma City.

As the Executive Director of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce from 2014 to 2020, Courtis doubled the revenues in his first three years, grew the Ambassador team to over 40 volunteers, created the Summer Works in Yuma program to give teachers summertime income, and created membership levels for annual programming for more highly engaged members. He created one-hour training sessions for the members to include Customer Service, Team Building, the Communication of Sales, and Marketing Strategies, and also advanced the Military Affairs Committee to give Christmas to  over 200 service families at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, and the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground. 

His bi-monthly Legislative Affairs lunches were attended by State legislators from both parties, City Councilpersons from several cities, County Supervisors, Mayors and more. 

Courtis  has been married to Deb for 22 years, has four grown children and seven grandchildren, and retired to the Prescott Country Club in October of 2020.