Redmond Chamber director honored

Redmond Chamber of Commerce & CVB Executive Director Eric Sande was recently honored with the William R. Haas Chamber Executive of the Year award, the highest honor given out annually by the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC).

The honor was announced during a banquet and awards ceremony held on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 6 as part of the OSCC-WCCE (Washington Chamber of Commerce Executives) Joint Leadership Conference in Vancouver, Wash.

“Eric, to me, is the best executive director I’ve ever worked with,” said Loretta Kriege, the current president of the Redmond Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. “He makes our job on the board of directors very simple and very easy because of his knowledge, his experience and his workability with the city and other community leaders.”

Eric began his career at the Redmond Chamber in 1992, when he was hired to work the front desk. Two years later, he was promoted to the chamber’s economic development team, at which time he earned his Economic Development Institute Certification from the University of Oklahoma.

Eric took over as executive director in 1999. The same year, he rounded out his post-graduate education by completing coursework at the Institute for Organizational Management at the University of Georgia.

Over the past two decades, he has taken on dozens of leadership roles in the Redmond community, from a member of the Redmond Airport Commission and the Small Business Development Center to Leadership Redmond co-founder and facilitator.

“His affiliations, like serving on the airport commission or his work with Redmond Economic Development, has greatly contributed to his knowledge of the community, which in turn contributes to his work at the chamber,” Kriege said. “His presence in the community – the time and energy he puts into all of it – is just amazing.”

For example, Eric can be found secretly greeting children as the Great Pumpkin at the annual Redmond Downtown Trick-or-Treat event, or motivating a team of volunteers to decorate Redmond’s downtown core with more than 400 boxes of Christmas lights each November.

On the economic development front, Eric was instrumental in building and sustaining the professional relationship that recently brought BasX Solutions to Redmond, one of the community’s most important new companies. The story of Eric’s recruitment of BasX was recently honored as “Business Development Story of the Year” by the Oregon Economic Development Association.

“Eric has built one of the most loyal and participative chamber membership populations in the state of Oregon,” Jon Stark, Redmond Economic Development Inc. Manager, wrote in a letter nominating Eric for the OSCC award. “His energy and enthusiasm is infectious with his staff, peers and stakeholders. From social events that drive commerce to concerts and parades that provide meaningful community connectivity, Eric has continued to raise the bar through his effective leadership and professionalism.”

Criteria for the William R. Haas Chamber Executive of the Year award, according to the OSCC, are based on personal character, management excellence, community relations and leadership.

The OSCC offers annual awards in three categories as a way to showcase excellence in chamber management and promotion. They include Chamber Achievement of the Year, Chamber Publications, and Chamber Executive of the Year. A committee annually reviews entries within each category, with final awards announced during the annual OSCC Leadership Conference held each fall.

About the Redmond Chamber of Commerce & CVB

For more than 100 years, the Redmond Chamber of Commerce & CVB (Convention Visitors Bureau) has grown to become the largest chamber of commerce in Oregon, per capita, and the fifth-largest overall. With 730-plus current members from throughout Central Oregon, the Redmond Chamber serves in support of business, the community, and families who choose to live and play in Central Oregon. For more information about the Redmond Chamber of Commerce, its members and the community of Redmond, visit www.visitredmondoregon.com.