ELBURN – A new board of directors will be seated next month for the Elburn Chamber of Commerce.

The new president will be Karen Park, who works at Old Second Bank; the vice president will be Dan Murphy from Edward Jones; the vice president of marketing will be Joe Smitherman from American Family Insurance; the secretary will be Cindy Gurke from American Family Insurance; and the treasurer will be Celia Rocha from National Bank and Trust.

Park said the chamber started ribbon-cutting ceremonies this year, which have been successful. She said she hopes to expand on that initiative and look into bringing festivals back to Elburn.

"We have to weigh all our options," she said.

Gurke, who said she was the chamber administrator for more than a year before the previous board dismissed her, said she looks forward to working with the chamber again and new board members.

Gurke said before she left the chamber six months ago, she had been looking into best practices at chambers in Geneva, Batavia and St. Charles. She said she wants to explore what types of services would fit well in Elburn.

Gurke said she hopes to help the chamber improve its services for business owners and chamber members in the Elburn area. She wants members to see a bigger return on their investment.

"We have businesses pay their chamber dues, and that's it," she said. "That's not what the chamber's about."

Jamie Jump, who has been the chamber administrator since April, said chamber members can attend the lunch meeting at noon Jan. 3 at Chico's Tacos when the new board will be seated.

Gurke said chamber members elect a board every year, and board members are encouraged, but not required, to change positions every two years.

"I think they chose a good board that's ambitious to get things done," Jump said.