In the midst of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau’s popularly debated budget work sessions, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau Board of Directors named Michelle Conway the permanent president and CEO.
Conway served as interim president and CEO twice, first when Jennifer Wesselhoff left the position to move to Utah in 2020 and then when Candace Carr Strauss left in 2022.
Now, Conway will take on the position officially.
“Michelle has convincingly demonstrated the leadership this critical position requires,” Chamber Board of Directors Chairman Al Comello said. “The board believes her executive skills, the respect she has earned in the community and her understanding of the needs of our members eminently qualifies her to lead in the years ahead.”
Conway served as the chamber’s director of marketing since 2009. According to the board, Conway played a crucial role in the COVID-19 response and safety messages during the beginning of the pandemic.
Since Carr Strauss left the position suddenly in March, Conway oversaw the partnership between the chamber and the city with the Sedona Shuttle as well as the expansion of the Sedona Trail Keepers program by donating $102,000 for trail maintenance and preservation. But Conway also stepped into the role at the height of the chamber’s work sessions and discussion with the city, just two weeks before the first budget proposal meeting.
The chamber’s budget, which according to the city is a part of their general fund’s budgeting costs, has been heavily focused on in the past few years specifically by residents.
With tourism issues growing and a global pandemic in the middle of it, some residents believe the city’s destination marketing contract with the chamber should be cut entirely as the goal for sustainable tourism seems further and further away; while other residents persistently support the chamber.
The follow-up budget meeting moved from its initial date last week to Wednesday, June 15. This will give council members the opportunity to either approve or deny the new proposed budget.
“I think you’re giving us the freedom to be your professional destination management organization … we just need to come back and go through this and digest. Then [we will] come back with a plan that we recommend,” Conway said to Sedona City Council members at their last budget work session in March.
At the first budget discussion meeting, the chamber proposed a $1.53 million budget for this upcoming fiscal year. This new budget would be a $710,500 decrease from this current fiscal year’s budget.
“Our success depends on unity,” Conway said. “Our residents, City Council, the chamber as a certified Destination Management Organization, our public land agencies, nonprofits and our business community have a voice in managing our tourism-based economy sustainably. I look forward to positive change as we move forward.”
