South West chamber names new executive director
It’s not exactly a divided household, but Mandi Pryor originally is from northern Allegheny County, and her husband, Christopher, is from Washington.
With their young son, Max, they’ve settled in Cecil Township.
“He got me in saying it was equal distance,” she observed. “In the middle of the night, it’s equal distance.”
Despite having to battle traffic when visiting her native Aspinwall and the vicinity, Mandi has assimilated nicely.
“The community has just been very open,” the Highlands High School graduate said. “There are so many wonderful people, and it’s definitely become my home on the other side of town.”
Pryor has a new job on this side of town as executive director of the South West Communities Chamber of Commerce, the 90-year-old organization serving South Fayette, Upper St. Clair, Bridgeville, Collier, Heidelberg, Scott and surrounding communities.
“I’ll be overseeing anything that has to do with the chamber, which includes events as well as bringing some new workshops for business owners, partnerships with business owners and generally having the chamber members interact with each other and the community,” she explained.
Operating from its distinctive office in a renovated former West Penn Power substation on Route 50 in Collier Township, the chamber serves about 400 member businesses, social services and municipal agencies.
“It’s definitely thriving,” Pryor said about the coverage area. “I moved out here a couple of years ago, and the changes in the past couple of years have been astounding. And they’re only going to get bigger over the next five years or 10 years.”
Members receive numerous benefits, including marketing resources, print and electronic advertising opportunities, business counseling services, insurance programs and energy plans, and many opportunities to network with one another.
“I’m going to be implementing a discount-to-discount for members,” Pryor said. “So they’ll be able to interact with their businesses and also receive a discount just for She expressed optimism about living and working in a part of the region that continues to grow.
“I think it’s so good for the area, all the businesses coming in and all of the interactions between the businesses,” she said. “I think that’s exactly what the area needs.”
Visit www.swccoc.org.