Eggemeyer to lead economic development, tourism office

Chandra Eggemeyer has hit the ground running as Clarendon’s new Director of Tourism & Economic Development, and the Donley County native says she’s ready to start helping local businesses.

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation board confirmed Eggemeyer’s position last Monday, August 20, after she was selected by a committee consisting of CEDC board member Steve Hall, Chamber of Commerce President Bonnie Campbell, and City Administrator Lambert Little.

Many people may remember her as Chandra Ford, which was her maiden name when she graduated from Clarendon High School in 1998 and headed off to Abilene Christian University to study political science.

That led her to a position with Congressman Charlie Stenholm and eventually put her on the path to a master’s degree from Angelo State University in public administration.

“I worked in Washington, DC, and then in [Stenholm’s] district, and that’s when I knew I wanted to be in government,” Eggemeyer said.

After five years with the congressman’s office working on military and veterans’ affairs as well as agriculture and immigration issues, she spent two years with the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality as an advocate for small businesses and local governments as they struggled to understand and comply with sometimes complex regulations.

Eggemeyer then moved over to the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) as a rural economic development representative and stayed in that position for four years where she worked with small towns to capitalize on ag tourism and nature tourism opportunities, and that’s when she began to see her hometown of Clarendon in a new light.

“I’ve seen towns promise the world and then not be able to deliver,” Eggemeyer said. “A lot of towns would kill for our location at Highways 287 and 70.”

Eggemeyer said the Texas Department of Transportation in 2010 estimated an average of 15,000 cars come through Clarendon every day.

“I know the traffic can sometimes be bothersome, but we have to look at it as potential sales tax revenue,” she said.

One of Eggemeyer’s first priorities will be to find ways expand current tourism events and come up with new events.

“I’d like to see us tap different groups to come to these events. Perhaps we could kick off the Chuckwagon Cookoff a day early and have an event for bikers or runners, for example,” she said. “The key to it is we have to get people to come and stay here for four hours.  If they stay for four hours, they’re probably going to buy a meal. And yt’s even better if we can get them to stay overnight.”

Eggemeyer’s most recent experience has been in the private sector with Village Farms Greenhouse in Monahans, a $50 million project that she first learned about while at TDA. She has learned the challenges associated with bringing a big new employer to a small town.

“Not every town is going to get a Toyota plant,” she said. “Before you go after big employers you have to look at infrastructure issues. If someone wanted to bring in 100 employees, could our city handle it? Could our schools handle it? You have to be sure you can deliver.”

Eggemeyer also wants to help expand local businesses and has begun talking to individual merchants to see what their needs are. She says her office stands ready to help current and potential new businesses find the tools they need to be successful.

“I’m here to make people aware of the possibilities and the resources that are available,” she said, and she’s glad to be home.

“The quality of life here is great. It’s nice to be in a town where everyone is friendly, and I have family here also,” she said. “I was so excited with they posted this position.”

Eggemeyer’s husband, Jared, is also excited about the small town atmosphere since he grew up in Miles, a town of about 800 people.

Eggemeyer can currently be reached at City Hall where she has a temporary desk, but in a few weeks her office will be in the old Mulkey Theatre barbershop.

“I think the Mulkey is an exciting project,” she said. “I think it is good that Clarendon has made that a priority. It will take a lot of time and resources, but we’re going to be glad we did it.”