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Peggy Nevsimal will be the new manager for the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce.

Nevsimal will take the place of Susan Miller who will retire from the position in September.

The new manager comes from a strong marketing background and was most recently assistant manager at Sunbanks Lake Resort where she has worked for the past three years.

Nevsimal is a native of Walla Walla, having gone to school there and is a graduate of Washington State University with a degree in English.

Nevsimal said she sees her activity in the chamber focusing in three areas -- tourism, event planning and membership.

Nevsimal has a marketing background, primarily with the Chicago Tribune and its many properties where she spent some 16 years in various marketing campaigns both in the Windy City and at property locations for radio, television and newspapers throughout the country. She left the Tribune in 2006.

While she spent a number of years dealing with the task of promoting a major newspaper of 1.3 million circulation, plus other Tribune properties in major cities, she sees herself as a “small town” girl.

She said she would focus on developing an understanding for members of the benefits of being part of the chamber. She said it was obvious from an interview with the members of the chamber board that a drive for additional members was one of the things she was expected to do.

Being an advocate for business interests before city councils and other agencies is one of the things she looks forward to doing, Nevsimal noted.

Helping visitors see the beauty and understand the historic setting we live in is a task she feels both well suited to do and excited for the chance to do so.

“This is a marvelous and historic area,” she said. “You only have to look around and see the beauty provided by nature. You don’t have to do anything to it.”