Changing of the guard

West Plains Chamber of Commerce Executive director Kathleen Schreiber stepped down from her position March 31, but didn't have to go to far to begin her next career opportunity.

In fact, she moved two doors north of the chamber's offices on First Street in Cheney. Schreiber leaves the chamber after five years to become the director of marketing and community relations at Cheney Federal Credit Union, a financial institution that began in 1951 in a drawer at Eastern Washington State College and has grown to over 4,600 members with $85 million in assets.

Schreiber said she learned about the opening, which had been vacant for about a year and a half, when the credit union - a chamber member - came to her seeking help advertising the position. Schreiber reviewed the position description, and decided to apply herself, believing not only did she meet the qualifications but also as someone who spent some of her youth in the Cheney School District and has been an advocate for all things Cheney and the West Plains, felt it was a good fit.

"It's one of those places where you walk in and everyone knows you," she said. "This is the epitome of banking local."

Schreiber's family moved to Portland, Ore., from Cheney after she finished her sophomore year of high school. She has lived in many urban areas of the United States and even overseas, and found herself newly divorced and in Baltimore in 2003 seeking to return closer to her mother, who lives in Tyler.

With four sons in her household, she did research on the qualities of school districts in the area, thinking she would end up living in Spokane.

"Cheney (School District) just kept coming up (at the top)," she said. "Somewhere in the mix, I just figured that Cheney was the best place."

Schreiber joined the West Plains Chamber of Commerce as its executive director in July 2010 at a time when the national economy was just beginning to emerge from the Great Recession and chambers all over the country were struggling. The West Plains organization was no exception, with its board of directors entertaining the idea of disbanding.

Schreiber said the board was "doing its best" to keep going, and felt it just needed "fresh eyes and ears" to see things differently. Schreiber helped provide some of those, and over time the chamber rebounded and has flourished, growing to its current 320 members - a 155 percent increase since 2010 - as well as seeing a 70 percent increase in revenues and 300 percent increase in member participation in monthly events.

The importance of the chamber regionally has also grown. Schreiber said when she first started it was difficult to find speakers for the monthly meetings.

Now, people want to talk to the chamber, Schreiber said, and business and civic leaders often ask for its position and support on issues. The chamber has formed partnerships with large organizations such as Greater Spokane Incorporated, Fairchild Air Force Base, Cheney and Medical Lake school districts, Eastern Washington University, the Spokane and Kalispell tribes and the Cheney Merchants Association.

But Schreiber's favorite part of this form of community development is the chamber's relationship with area non-profits. Schreiber said 30 percent of their members are non-profit organizations.

"It's everybody coming together, and that's so powerful," she said.

There won't be much of a beat skipped with Schreiber's leaving. Last week the board hired state Sen. Mike Baumgartner's legislative assistant Joe Jackson as its new executive director. Jackson, a U.S. Army veteran, has an AA degree from Pierce College in Tacoma and received his bachelor's degree in communications from EWU in 2013.

"I'm excited to see what happens when I pass the baton on the next leg of the relay," Schreiber said. "This has been the best job I ever had, most definitely. This is a great community."

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].