LONGTIME LEADER OF PFLUGERVILLE CHAMBER IS RETIRING
Patricia Gervan-Brown has announced she is retiring as president and CEO for the Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce after 23 years of service.
Since joining the chamber in 1995 as president, Gervan-Brown has advised hundreds of businesses and played a leading role in the city’s economic growth.
Gervan-Brown said it has been gratifying to see the hundreds of businesses she shepherded grow and prosper.
“There wasn’t a lot of choices for consumers as the population was growing when I started,” she said. “Now you can find everything you need right here in your own community, keeping those dollars local and helping diversify our economy.”
Amy Madison, executive director of the Pflugerville Development Corporation, said through Gervan-Brown’s leadership, the chamber had a strong role in economic development in the community before the corporation was created, and provided the foundation for what the organization is today. “The PCDC’s role is to recruit companies to the area and the chamber’s role has been to continue to support them and assist them with growth in the community,” she said. “Patricia has helped acclimate businesses to the community and open opportunities for companies to expand their services to the area in partnership with the PCDC.”
She said that under Gervan-Brown’s leadership, the chamber has expanded its role in working with the school district and assisting students to have more opportunities for professional advancement after high school.
In a news release, chamber board chairwoman Coletta Haskin of Haskin Enterprises said it has been a pleasure working with Gervan-Brown the past five years.
“I have had the opportunity to see her passion for business growth in the community,” she said. “For 23 years, she has been the voice of the chamber. She has demonstrated great leadership, and has proven time and time again that she can get the job done.”
Gervan-Brown said being chamber president has been a wonderful experience.
“For over two decades I have gotten to work with a really amazing group of dedicated professionals that I am greatly enriched by and will miss,” she said.
The chamber plans to honor Gervan-Brown at its annual banquet March 1 at the Courtyard By Marriott in Pflugerville.
Chamber officials said Gervan-Brown’s successor will be announced in the near future.