TULALIP — The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce welcomed its new director of administration, Kim Hillhouse, and bid farewell to Kimberlie Ritchey, its outgoing director of administration, on Aug. 27.

Hillhouse is a Marysville native, born and raised in the town, who raised her own children in Marysville. She’s also owned and operated her own business in town, The Sun Factory. During the more than five years that she was in business in Marysville, she served as an emissary for the Chamber, helped sponsor local events such as the Strawberry Festival and the city’s concerts in Jennings Park, and donated to local fundraisers, little leagues and dance competitions, in addition to promoting and collecting food for the Marysville Community Food Bank.

According to Chamber President and CEO Caldie Rogers, Hillhouse has strong ties to Marysville and is committed to the betterment of the community.

“Kim has big shoes to fill, but the scope of her background, combined with her tangible talent and skills, promises a bright future for our organization and assures us that we will continue to be cutting-edge in service and support delivery to our members and the business communities we serve,” Rogers said.

Hillhouse brings more than 25 years of experience as an administrator to the Chamber, serving as an office manager for a financial group and a primary liaison between two major facilities at Boeing, as well as a credit manager for a land and sea communications manufacturer.

As for Ritchey, she’s completing nearly seven years as the Chamber’s former director of administration to move to Idaho with her family.

“It’s been a great privilege serving the Chamber and the Marysville and Tulalip communities, and especially working with Caldie Rogers, who has been an inspirational leader in all the many roles she’s led the Chamber through,” Ritchey said.

Rogers credited Ritchey with modernizing the Chamber’s operations with innovations ranging from state-of-the-art integrated computer systems and programs to the development of the Chamber’s website.

“Kimberlie Ritchey is leaving in her wake a tremendous legacy of accomplishment and service on behalf of our members and the business communities that we serve,” Rogers said. “Her talent and can-do spirit consistently turned all of our visions into today’s realities. We cannot thank her enough and wish her well on this next chapter of her life.”