DENNIS – Replacing the 13-year head of an organization seems like it can be a daunting task.
Stepping in as the newest Executive Director of the Dennis Chamber of Commerce in September, Lois Andre has been learning about the needs of the town and formulating a plan.
Andre officially began in the role in September, replacing 13-year Executive Director Spyro Mitrokostas, who left the chamber in June. Marty Bruemmel served as interim director during the summer.
The 61-year-old has an extensive career on the Cape, first arriving in 1989 as the Executive Director of the Cape and Islands United Way, serving in the position until 1998.
Andre served as an adjunct faculty member and as Director of Workforce Education at Cape Cod Community College from 1999 until 2016, leaving to conduct research publications for an international pharmaceutical firm. She says that the publication job forced her to mostly work alone, which brought her to Dennis.
“It was time for me to be back meeting with people because I was walking from my bedroom into my office, putting on my headsets and preparing things for publication. So, it was time to have a little more people contact in the community because I’ve always been involved in the community and it was time to get back out there,” she said.
Andre says her immediate focus is to become more familiar with the town boards and gain a more in-depth understanding of the town’s economic development plans.
“My vision for the Dennis Chamber of Commerce is that we do promote the tourism and the hospitality, but also that Dennis is a great place to live and work. We do have several year-round businesses in Dennis,” Andre said.
She adds that a focus on promoting the town’s tourism and livability is critical to sustaining a healthy local economy.
“Dennis is a community that has an awful lot of second homes in it and making sure that this is a good place for people to retire to and also do business in.”
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
