“She’s a real go-getter,” said Don Wright, a chamber board member and co-host of the local cable show, “Springboro 45066.”
Hughes, 54, of Lebanon took over the chamber spot in August, replacing Anne Stremanos, who retired after 10 years at the job.
Stremanos’ presence persists in the person of her granddaughter, Chelsea Inman, the chamber’s executive assistant.
But Hughes has altered the office’s dynamic.
“She brings a whole lot of new ideas,” Wright said.
Born and raised in Coventry in England’s Midlands, Hughes and her husband Lyn moved to Warren County in 1993, following her parents, who emigrated to the area for jobs at General Electric in Evendale.
The couple raised four children, Russell of Indianapolis; Adam of Kettering; Kelly of Monroe; and Daniel of Oxford.
Then she returned to the work force in 1994, working her way through a series of positions with the Ralph J. Stolle Countryside YMCA in Lebanon, including a part-time job in an after-school program at Jonathan Wright Elementary School in Springboro.
Hughes also worked at Y’s in Butler County before taking over as director of the Coffman Y in Springboro in 2006.
Last August, chamber leaders tabbed her to replace Stremanos.
“I was ready for a little change,” she said, while noting both jobs require skills in membership and volunteer development.
“Understanding why people join. Understanding why people leave. And all that goes in between,” she said, seated in the chamber office on South Main Street.
While continuing programs set in motion by Stremanos, Hughes hopes to rejuvenate the scene on South Main Street, the city’s historic district.
“I’m very interested in kind of helping to bring back a strong Main Street presence,” she said. “We haven’t started on this yet.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2261 or lbudd@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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