The newly revived Richland Chamber of Commerce has hired an executive director.

The chamber’s board unanimously chose Chandra Christenson for the part-time position from a pool of “very qualified local candidates,” chamber officials said in a statement. Christenson is the owner of Simplified Celebrations, a Richland flower design and event planning company established in 2007. 

Christenson will continue running her business while serving in the chamber role.

Chandra Christenson“My focus is going to be membership,” said Christenson, noting that her goal is to add at least 25 new members in 2024. The group currently has about 15 members, although more attend meetings.

She’ll also work on the website and welcome packet, and she said the hope is to work with the city of Richland to bring back the popular chamber event Cool Desert Nights.
The chamber serves an important role, she said.  

“We have a lot of start-ups and microbusinesses. There are a lot of one-, two- or three-person businesses in Richland. To have a networking group and fellowship within the business community is unique,” she said, noting that small businesses — no matter the services they offer — have a great deal in common and benefit from sharing information, insight and camaraderie.

The Richland chamber was revived in the fall of 2022 by Rob Welch and Dave Rose, two businessmen and former mayors who wanted a return to hyperlocal networking and a greater connection between the Richand business community and city officials. The revival came about 17 years after the Richland and Kennewick chambers merged to form the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce with the goal of greater representation for the business community at the state level.

Welch, president of the Richland chamber, said in the statement that the group is “very excited to have Chandra come on board in a part time role to help us focus on membership growth and use her many years of event planning experience in the community to develop some upcoming very exciting events.”

She’ll focus on the chamber’s goal of making Richland a better place to live and work, he said.