PEABODY — The Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce (PACC) has a new leader.
The Chamber recently announced that current office manager, Beth Amico, has been named its new executive director, filling the role previously held by Julie Daigle, who has left the Chamber to accept a position as the Director of Development at Mills58, current site of the PACC office.
“I look forward to continuing to build relationships with the wonderful PACC members and to support businesses within our local communities,” said Amico, whose first day is Monday, Nov. 9. “I have learned a lot about the Chamber’s values and benefits since joining the team and am excited to have the opportunity to continue sharing those with members. An added bonus is the ability to continue to work with Julie in her new role, as she and Maria Terris, Programs Director, have been instrumental in my PACC role.”
Amico, who joined the PACC leadership team in August 2018, is expected to bring a wealth of corporate and business experience to the Peabody area business community with more than 17 years of experience in human resources. She served as HR Director for Clarks Americas, Inc. from July of 1999 to August of 2015. Prior to that, she was HR Manager at HP Hood, LLC for a little more than a year. From 2016-2018, she served as a Title 1 first-grade English teacher at the Brown Elementary School.
More recently, Amico has worked with the North Shore-Cape Ann Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coalition as a point of contact liaison for 15 communities prior to and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
A St. Anselm College graduate, Amico has strong ties to the community as she resides in Peabody with her husband Joe, a member of the Peabody School Committee, and their two children, Katie, a ninth-grader at Peabody High, and Joey, a seventh-grader at Higgins Middle School. Amico has volunteered on a regular basis, when able, from serving as a Brown School class parent to manning the concession stand at the James Street Little League park.
Daigle has high praise for her successor.
“I am so excited to be able to take on this new opportunity with so many things happening at Mills58 while continuing a great relationship with the Chamber,” said Daigle. “Beth is one of the most committed, community-focused and engaging people in Peabody.
Teresa Reade, PACC chairman of the board, said, “the depth of Beth’s experience will be an asset to not only the PACC membership, but to the community as a whole. I look forward to the innovative ideas and opportunities for our membership that Beth will bring in this position.”
For her part, Amico said that, while many Chamber members have seen more than their fair share of struggles during the pandemic, she is impressed with the way members are finding ways to succeed.
“Obviously we have businesses that are struggling, but they are doing some amazing things to keep delivering their services in our community, which is so important,” she said. “We know our priority is to continue to give our members the support they need in whatever way we can, now more than ever.
“I have full confidence that we at the Chamber can do that as we have an incredible staff and resources. Our members have been so amazing in finding creative and alternative ways to keep their businesses going in such challenging times.”
Before jumping into her new role, Amico has been hard at work doing her soon-to-be-old job, preparing for Chamber’s Virtual Roaring 20’s event this Thursday. The fundraiser replaces the Annual Dinner, which was canceled. It will be televised live from 7-9 p.m. on Peabody Access Television on channel 99 and will also be live streamed on YouTube and Facebook.
“We are so excited about this event as we have had great interest,” Amico said. “Monday, Julie, Maria and I will be in the office stuffing goodie baskets and getting the raffle tickets ready to go, so we are hoping this will be a huge event for our members,” adding that sponsorship opportunities are still available.
For more information on attending the event, purchasing raffle tickets or becoming a sponsor, visit https://business.peabodychamber.com/.
