After four years at the helm of the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, Chris Guitton has traded his title of executive director for that of full-time husband, father, grandfather and dog walker.
Guitton, 56, submitted his resignation to the Chamber board Tuesday, March 21. He gave 30 days notice but has chosen to spend his final days working out of his downtown Edmonds condominium.
Jan Vance, assistant executive director and events director, will assume the job on an interim basis.
Nagging physical problems convinced Guitton now is the time to trade his business suits for casual attire. “I’m really run down. Physically and mentally drained,” he said, adding that he suffers from “terrible bronchitis and serious consequences (stemming from) optic nerve problems.”
He also said he’s worn out from managing long distance end-of-life issues for his mother in his native France. Guitton was able to travel to see his mother before her recent passing.
“I have to think of the meaning of life,” he said of his decision to take a break from the workaday world. “I need to retire. I want to enjoy life tremendously.”
The gregarious Guitton has held jobs ranging from a nuclear-fuel broker who sold fuel to public utilities (“But I never carried samples”) to working with a personnel-assessment consulting firm. He was hired by the Chamber in 1997 to serve as president and assumed the executive directorship in 2004.
He said he is most proud of introducing a “more business-like approach” to the Chamber. “I like structure and systems that can be picked up by others when someone leaves.”
“I’m not crazy about the term ‘not-for-profit’,” he said. “We’re running a business that should result in more profit for our members.”
He said as he prepares to leave, “the Chamber is in great shape.”
Guitton insisted any accomplishments are the work of the dedicated volunteers.
Guitton and his wife, Judy, who is retired from teaching English as a second language at Edmonds Community College, said they look forward to spending more time with their children and grandchildren in Bothell and the San Francisco Bay area.
The exiting director vowed he always will have a “commitment to the Chamber” but admits to looking forward to spending more time walking his Portuguese Water Dog and enjoying Edmonds from the “other side” of the Chamber doorway.
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