The Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce has a new administrative assistant.

That distinction belongs to Vanessa Gerhard, of Hometown, who began her assignment Jan. 4.Gerhard, a graduate of Marian Catholic High School, as well as Penn State University, said she has a varied background in customer services, writing, editing and administrative skills.She said some of her duties are to field phone calls, accept walk-ins, and manage the memberships of chamber members."I will be supporting the office, the board members, and everything they plan to do," Gerhard said. "I'm here to support the businesses as much as I can."At present, the chamber has about 120 members, a figure Gerhard said she'd like to see grow even more.That's where she said the chamber's membership drive comes into play.The chamber will begin its annual membership drive, first to current members, and then to potential members.Membership in the chamber is open not only to businesses, but also service organizations, local governments and individuals."We're a community-based chamber," she said. "We're open to the Tamaqua area."Before Gerhard coming on as administrative assistant, Linda Yulanavage served as executive director for the chamber until she retired in November.