Chamber names new executive director
The Yuma County Chamber of Commerce has named a new executive director. Kimberly Kahl will step into the position on Sept. 2. Kahl hails from Tolleson and comes with plenty of experience in membership and nonprofit organizations.
The chamber selection committee, composed of the Executive Committee members John Courtis, outgoing executive director, GYEDC President/ CEO Julie Engel and Jeff Byrd, chairman of the board, selected Kahl after an extensive three-month nationwide search that produced 104 candidates.
“The committee is extremely proud of our choice,” Byrd said. “Our final candidates were all extremely qualified.
However, Mrs. Kahl, who is a former Executive of the Year chosen by the Arizona Society of Association Executives and a certified association executive, possessed all of the skill sets the selection committee was seeking to become our next great executive director of the chamber.”
Courtis, who is retiring to the Prescott/Dewey area, is working three days a week through September to help Kahl settle into the position.
“She is terrific. The search committee loved her,” Courtis said. “She has great experience in membership organizations, which I did not have. We thought that was important. She gets the fact that members come first.”
He also noted that she has experience in testifying before the Arizona Legislature and in Washington, D.C.
Courtis thinks Kahl will fit right in with the Yuma community. “We liked her demeanor. She has a good sense of humor. She’ll blend well with the community,” he said.
The search began with more than 100 resumes, which were whittled down to 16 finalists. The committee interviewed the top six via Zoom. Then the final three made their pitches to the chamber board.
“All three finalists had the capacity to take over as executive director, but Kimberly just had that much more experience and know-how to do the job on a day-to-day basis,” Courtis said.
“She checked all the boxes. I’m thrilled to pass on the baton to somebody who is capable of taking the chamber to the next level.”
He noted that Kahl wants to focus on small businesses and embrace agriculture. “She has creative ideas for marketing and new technology. I’m Fred Flinstone. She has the technological background. She knows her stuff.”
Courtis was also impressed with the amount of research she did on the job and the organization. “Her level of research was over the top,” he added.
Engel said she feels “fortunate” to have been asked to participate in the selection committee for the new chamber director. “I was very pleased by the caliber of candidates who were interested in the position. We had stellar talent rise to the top and the decision was not an easy one to make,” she said.
“With that said, the selection of Kimberly Kahl was the best for our community. Kimberly will bring an outside perspective with vast experience in multiple markets as well as multiple industry sectors. She reminded me of a female John Courtis. She is extremely upbeat, cheerful and HIGH ENERGY just like John. Her marketing skills rose to the top, and I can’t wait to sit down with her and brainstorm,” Engel wrote in an email.
“The entire team at GYEDC is very excited to welcome and assist Kimberly with anything we can. She has inherited an amazing team and they will be her greatest asset coming into the position. She is equipped to soar,” Engel said, adding, “I would like to extend my gratitude to the Board of Directors of the Chamber for including me in the process. They are a great group and handled this entire process extremely well.”
Kahl is excited to return to an agriculture community. She grew up surrounded by farms in “much smaller towns than Yuma.”
“I was born and raised in northern Illinois, in the middle of cornfields. My grandparents, aunts and uncles all had farms. My very first job was detasseling corn,” she said.
Kahl fell in love with Yuma’s small-town feel. “I am so excited to be moving to Yuma and being part of that community. That’s what drew me to Yuma. I felt such a sense of community. It felt like home when I went there. So I’m excited to be part of that, to be part of the team that helps promote it.”
She enjoys working with nonprofits, something she has been doing since 1998. “I fell into it by accident,” she said.
She stuck with it because “that’s what I know, that’s where my experience is.”
Kahl is a certified association executive, which means she holds a certification for people who run nonprofit. She also attended the Arizona State University nonprofit leadership program.
“I love it. The membership organization becomes like my extended family. I get to know the members, and I get to know the people. I love seeing them and doing things for them. It makes it personal,” she explained.
Kahl moved to the Phoenix area 17 years ago after a job transfer. However, she was already familiar with Arizona since her great-grandparents had moved to Mesa in 1947.
Yuma’s military culture also drew her since service to the country is a family tradition. Her grandfather was a World War II veteran, her dad served in Vietnam, and two nephews are Marines, with one recently retiring after 21 years.
She’s currently not working after leaving her last position for another job, which fell through due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s become a fortuitous circumstance.
“It’s nice because I’m home to pack,” she quipped.
Kahl is moving to Yuma with her husband of 18 years, Chris, and 16-yearold son. He’s taking the move in stride since he’s in his fourth year of online school, she said.