Starr named new Chamber director

Claudia Starr fell in love with Fulton and Callaway County when she moved here three years ago.

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Edward Lazear, Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, briefs reporters, Thursday in Washington, on the Commerce Department's report that gross domestic product, or GDP, decreased at a 0.3 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter.

Starting on Jan. 1, a key part of Starr's job will be to make sure others love her new home as much as she does.

Starr has been named the new executive director of the Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce, and will take that position over from Nancy Lewis, who has led the chamber for 21 years.

"It's going to be very difficult to fill Nancy's shoes ... she has a wealth of information," Starr said, adding she is looking forward to working with Lewis as she prepares to settle into her new role. "It's going to be a learning curve for sure. I'm hoping the community will be patient with me while I learn and absorb the essence of the community."

Starr, who said she has been part of several businesses and currently is the chair of the equestrian studies division at William Woods University - as an assistant professor she teaches courses in equine business, behavior and training - said she is looking forward to the challenge of helping promote Callaway and further develop its business community.

"The first thing I need to do is meet with Nancy and then go to all the businesses and meet the business owners and really get to know them. I'm looking forward to meeting the leaders in the community," Starr said. "From my standpoint, I think Fulton has tremendous potential to be whatever it wants to be; there's such potential here.

"I would like to see it showcased more as a true destination, and how we go about that is going to be the exciting and challenging part."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.