Redondo Chamber CEO Smeltzer retiring after 32 years
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce CEO Marna Smeltzer. Smeltzer will retire later this year. File photo
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce CEO Marna Smeltzer will retire this year after 32 years with the business-advocacy organization.
Smeltzer confirmed that she would be stepping down in an interview following the 2018 State of the City address, sponsored by the Chamber.
“Marna’s been doing this forever. She lives and breathes it,” said Mary McKenrick, the Chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. “It’s going to be a hard transition for her because she lived it for so long. She’ll be hard to replace.”
Talk of Smeltzer’s departure has been kept quiet by the Chamber, which has been working on releasing the information on its own timeline. But word spread when an advertisement for the Chamber CEO position was posted on the Redondo Chamber website.
The Chamber is forming a committee to seek Smeltzer’s replacement, led by past Board Chair Ann Garten, as well as an independent consultant.
“The committee wanted to be very transparent, so we have a person who is not involved or connected to the community,” Smeltzer said.
“She’ll take our core priorities for Marna’s replacement, go through the quite a few applications we’ve received, and narrow it down,” McKenrick said.
“I love doing what I do, and I’ve always seen my job as putting the members of my Chamber that are actively engaged, and giving them the opportunity to be where they need to be,” Smeltzer said.
Smeltzer is particularly proud of the Leadership Redondo program, now in its 17th year, which gives interested residents experience with the workings of Redondo Beach’s public organizations. The Chamber took over Leadership Redondo after an earlier attempt failed to get off of the ground.
Public projects spearheaded by the Leadership Redondo program include remodeled children’s rooms at city libraries, public art installations, and the city’s September 11 memorial. The Class of 2017 has begun work on replacing solar-powered lights along North Redondo’s Edison Right of Way with more efficient lights.
Smeltzer’s final years with the Chamber have seen increasing political controversy. Critics of the organization have questioned the amounts of money used by the Chamber’s Political Action Committee to support candidates. In 2015, the Chamber PAC used $28,000 to support District 3 councilman Christian Horvath for his first term in office. Council members John Gran and Laura Emdee have also been supported by the Chamber PAC in their elections.
Last year, the Redondo Beach City Council renegotiated its long-standing contract with the Chamber of Commerce, instead approving a short-term deal with the aim of splitting the Chamber from the Redondo Beach Visitors Bureau. The Visitor’s Bureau received $731,000 from the city’s Transit Occupancy Tax in 2017, under its contract with the City. Redondo’s hoteliers are in the early stages of forming a tourism improvement district, which will have a funding method to be determined in public hearings later this year.
Smeltzer’s departure, she said, is not because of these changes. Though she loves the job and the area, after 32 years, she wants to retire with her health, and spend more time with her family and grandchildren.
“Chambers are changing and they need to change…and I think it’s time for someone new, young and fresh who understands the challenges facing business and chambers to come in and lead this,” Smeltzer said. “I’ve seen so many bright, young, smart people in my associations, and I hope one of them will be interested in Redondo Beach.”