Friday, August 13, 1999
N.Ky. Chamber leader selected
Has experience in Plains states
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FORT MITCHELL — The new head of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has a background in economic development that should serve the community well, a chamber official said Thursday.
Gary L. Toebben, president of the Lawrence, Kan., Chamber of Commerce, is to be formally hired today at a special meeting of Northern Kentucky chamber members.
Juanita Mills, chairwoman of the chamber board, said Mr. Toebben has the skills and background to deal with major issues facing business and the community. He was active in tourism and economic development in Kansas, she said.
“We really need someone who has a different set of skills and who can take us beyond where we are right now,” Ms. Mills said Thursday.
“New businesses continue to move into the area, and that requires an individual who knows issues dealing with workforce development, tourism, the political process, growth and development,” she said.
Mr. Toebben did not return a call to comment. He and his
wife, Janice, plan to move to the area in about a month, the chamber said in a statement Thursday morning.
He will replace John Garman, who resigned from the chamber in 1998 after 12 years leading what has become the largest business organization in Northern Kentucky, with 1,900 members.
Ms. Mills and Government Affairs Director Steve Stevens, who has been acting president, have overseen the operation of the chamber in recent months, including its move from Covington to new offices on Buttermilk Pike in Fort Mitchell.
Mr. Toebben, a native of Nebraska and a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has been president of the Lawrence chamber since 1981.
Prior to that, he was development director for Nebraska's Tourism Division and was executive vice president of the North Platte, Neb., Chamber of Commerce.
He has held leadership positions in a number of professional organizations, including the executive committee of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives; as a board member of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry; president of the Kansas Industrial Developers Association; president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Executives; and board member of the Lawrence Business Education Partnership.
Mr. Toebben is not related to the Toebben family of Northern Kentucky, which is involved in development and youth, college and professional soccer in the region.
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