Dalton becomes Chamber's fifth director in two years

Nearly seven weeks after firing Michelle Pack as executive director, the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce filled the position Monday, announcing the hiring of a marketing consultant from Las Vegas.

Timothy Dalton, who has more than 15 years experience leading non-profits and in marketing, will assume leadership of the day-to-day operations of the Chamber, while reporting to the Board of Directors made up of local business professionals. In addition to running his own consulting firm in Las Vegas, Dalton has served as executive irector of the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership in Kennewick, Washington, where he led marketing, finance, accounting and social media efforts for the economic development of the area, according to a news release.

Dalton is a Marine Corps veteran with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Washington State.

"Tim will be able to make an impact that the Chamber, its members and the City will see almost immediately," said Karen Nolan, chair of the Board of Directors.

Dalton becomes the Chamber's fifth director in two years. Pack's dismissal came at the end of a year in which paying memberships in the Chamber increased from 215 to 373, according to a source. At the time, Nolan indicated that the enrollment increase was due primarily to the work of Neil Winter, who recruited membership as a Chamber employee before starting his successful campaign for mayor.

"Basically, it's the same direction we've been taking," Nolan told Menifee 24/7 in December, referring to Pack's dismissal. "We felt we needed to have somebody in that position to move it forward. (Pack) was the executive director during the increase in enrollment, but we also had a person who was employed with us as a marketer but had to step down for a time period because of his campaign. Those periods coincide."

That marketer was Winter, who told Menifee 24/7 he didn't "step down" but was fired after he announced his candidacy for mayor.

The Chamber has gone through a series of leadership changes since the departure of Dorothy Wolons, who worked as CEO for almost 10 years. Wolons went out on work-related stress disability in early 2015. She later filed a lawsuit against Chamber board members, claiming she was illegally terminated while on disability.

A press release sent to the media from the Chamber board on April 15, 2015 announced that Dee Cozart was hired as interim CEO, replacing Wolons. She served until July 23 of that year. On that day, according to a source, board members were notified that the executive board had hired Janet Cook, formerly CEO of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce. The board did not give her the title of CEO, restricting her duties to those of executive director.

Just two weeks later, on Aug. 6, the executive board announced in an email to board members that Cook was being replaced by Pack in the position of executive director.