Pat Avery to lead Port Arthur chamber

Published 8:47 am Tuesday, February 26, 2019

By Ken Stickney

ken.stickney@panews.com

Former energy company executive and business consultant Pat Avery will lead the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce, starting March 11.

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The decision was confirmed Monday by Stuart Salter, who led the search.

Avery, who is retired, will replace Bill McCoy, who was delaying his retirement until a replacement was named.

She lives in Houston but spent much of her career in Port Arthur, where she worked as vice president of global business development for consultants Griffith Moseley Johnson and Associates and, before that, as human resources and community relations manager for Total.

“We are stealing her from retirement,” Salter said of Avery, who has served on the chamber’s executive board and in executive roles. “She needs to find a place locally.”

Salter said Avery will likely stay at least a year — “She said she doesn’t want to work forever,” Salter said — while the chamber committee will stay in place seeking a long-term president and CEO.

“She is well known in the community and I believe we will want her to stay beyond when she wants to leave,” Salter said. He said Avery has recognized strength in building community relationships and he and the committee expect her to make improvements while she leads the four-person staff.

The chamber is housed in the 501 Building in downtown Port Arthur.

McCoy, who has led the chamber for seven years, announced in November that he would retire in February. He has led several chambers in Texas during his career and left retirement for the chamber job here.

The chamber has more than 600 members and operates on a budget of $400,000.

Among chamber achievements during his leadership tenure was securing 5-Star accreditation, which only about 2 percent of all chambers achieve.

A job posting for the position said the search committee was seeking someone with experience working within a Chamber of Commerce type of role; Salter said Avery did that well on the board.

The successful candidate, the posting said, would need “a strong understanding of community, commerce and legislation. These traits are vital to the success of the position and this organization.”

Salter said Avery lived much of her life in Port Arthur and established herself as a community leader.