The Greater Pharr Chamber of Commerce has named a new president and chief executive officer who has experience in the private sector, and who seeks to transition such expertise in a public capacity.
The chamber’s board of directors appointed Marcela Beas to the position, which she had served in an interim capacity since March of this year.
“I’m very grateful that I was given this opportunity, that I was entrusted by our board of directors to lead the chamber,” Beas said. “I have experience in the private sector, so this is a little different from being in the public sector. It feels good to be able to bring some of that experience from the private sector to the public sector.”
Now as the president and CEO of the chamber, Beas said she’s focusing on surveying the business community as well as generating revenue and getting the chamber to be self-sufficient so it can serve more members.
Beas is a graduate of St. Edward’s University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Marketing. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
She began working as the membership manager for the chamber in October 2020. Beas also hopes to bring new, innovative ideas to the chamber while providing resources to the local business community.
“After the pandemic and after the hard year that we’ve had, I think the businesses need that the most,” Beas said. “We want to be there for them, and we want to bring new resources for them.”
Beas’ new role in the chamber comes as the country continues to recover from the pandemic. As more people continue to get vaccinated against COVID-19, businesses are continuing to transition back to a more normal way of operating.
She said that taking the helm of the chamber has been a learning experience for her as she steps into a new role.
“We had to momentarily shut down during that year,” Beas said. “We slowed everything down, and that did affect our membership retention. Coming out of it, we need to come back stronger. Of course, we need to take a closer look at the benefits that we can provide to our members and the businesses. We need to be more diligent about providing those benefits, and we need to focus more on giving our members and our businesses visibility.
“Now that businesses are opening back up, that’s what we need to focus on.”
The chamber has also opened back up, allowing for more events and networking opportunities for the 49 active chamber members. Beas said that these events are helping the chamber achieve its goal of business visibility and increased membership.
“We’re open for business,” Beas said. “We welcome all of our businesses in the community in Pharr and outside of Pharr. We’re here for them — anything that we can do, any resources that we can offer, any services, any connections. We’re here, and we’re open for business.”
