Our executive director, Linda Yulanavage, is retiring today.

We are very sorry to see her go and thank Linda for her years of service to the Tamaqua chamber and the Tamaqua Community.There is no doubt that the Chamber would not be the organization it is today without Linda.She has worn many hats these past 15 years and has done an infinite number of deeds for not only the chamber, but for many other organizations throughout the borough.She had been instrumental in many projects in the Tamaqua community over the past 20-plus years.She has been an active and contributing volunteer to organizations such as The Tamaqua Beautification Committee, The Tamaqua 2004 Partnership now the Tamaqua Partnership, The Tamaqua Historical Society, the Main Street Program and Downtown Tamaqua.Many positive changes have happened in downtown Tamaqua over the past 20 years. Linda has been part of all this change. The Tamaqua Community will miss her.She will, however, continue to play her favorite role as Tamaqua's beloved Mrs. Claus.We wish her nothing but good wishes and luck in her future endeavors.The board of directors has been working very diligently the past year at restructuring the chamber and what role we play in the community of Tamaqua. We will continue to examine this and work toward "who is the Tamaqua Chamber and what role do we play in the community" in 2016.We are currently seeking to hire someone to fill Linda's position.We are looking for a part-time administrative assistant to work in the office three days a week as Linda had done.As we build up our funds we hope to again hire an executive director.For now we will need to rely on volunteers from our organization to fill some of these responsibilities.Until we find a suitable candidate for an administrative assistant, we will be closing the office.We hope that this shutdown will only be for the month of December and we will have a new person in place in January.In the meantime the executive committee has agreed to share the responsibilities of conducting the business of the chamber.Phone calls will be received and returned at the 570-668-1880 number. Emails will be read and answered.Train ticket sales will be referred to Tink's Antiques as they are also selling the tickets. Bills, invoices and mailings will also continue to go out.Our annual Christmas light appeal will be coming soon. We will continue to illuminate the downtown with holiday cheer. The Santa Claus Parade, the Depot Square lighting and the popular New Year's Eve Celebration will also continue.We ask for the public's patience and understanding as we take this time to restructure the chamber and we hope to begin 2016 a much stronger organization here to serve our members and our community.Membership renewal packets will be coming out in January. Within the membership packets will be a committee sign up packet. Any member of the Tamaqua Chamber or any member of the community can volunteer to serve on a committee.Also, remember today is Small Business Saturday.Remember to support your local retailers not only today but throughout the entire holiday season.