NEW YORK: Mary Yount tendered her resignation Sept. 23, saying her role as the executive director of the Knightdale Chamber of Commerce simply wasn’t working out.
“It’s proven not to be the best fit for me, but nothing bad,” Yount said Tuesday. “It’s just time for me and my family to do something different – no hard feelings or anything like that. I’m looking for other opportunities. I have been blessed with the people I have gotten to know here, but it’s time to see what else is out there.”
Yount’s last day on the job was Wednesday. The Wake Forest resident resigned without another job opportunity squared away, saying she was “leaping out on faith.”
Knightdale chamber leaders were undivided in their decision to hire Yount in July of 2013. She took over the director’s seat that August, replacing 18-year chamber director Jennifer Bryan who resigned to take a job with the Wake Tech Foundation.
Prior to that, Yount spent six years with the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce, three years as its director of member relations and three as vice president of operations.
Yount believes some of her greatest contributions as the Knightdale chamber chief include restructuring its membership investment schedule and growing revenue at some of the chamber’s annual fundraising events.
“The chamber hadn’t increased (membership) dues in over 10 years so we did a restructure,” she said. “It was about more than money, it was about businesses understanding a return on investments. It’s what do you get in return for joining the chamber, and we tried to clearly define that.”
Yount estimated the chamber’s annual business expo at Knightdale High School was about 27 percent more profitable this year, compared to past years. She said that level of profitability was accomplished by drawing more vendors and increasing their fees while also limiting operational expenses.
She also said repositioning the expo to give it more of a marketplace feel, with a central row through the school’s cafeteria toward its gym, turned up positive results for the event.
