Chamber Welcomes New Director

In April it was announced that Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce President Denise Wilkinson was resigning for a similar position in a bigger market.

Monday, her replacement and the newest Chamber director/president took the helm.

Hope Feeney, a graduate of Sidney High School and Hastings College, recently returned to Sidney to take on the duties of Chamber president.

"I grew up here, graduated high school here," she said Monday.

After high school she attended Hastings College where she earned a degree in Business Administration and a minor in English. She then took a job with the Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln, Neb., where she worked with the federal programs including grants, youth and community development programs.

Community is what drew her back to Sidney.

"I was kind of missing that home part of my life," she said.

She said while she was working at Lincoln, her husband was working at another school district.

"We never really felt part of the community," she said.

In returning to Sidney, she says she has found a presence of people who want Sidney to succeed.

Her husband is new to the Sidney area, but likes the town and community.

"It feels like home here," she said

Her husband has accepted a teaching position at Sidney High School.

She wants to lead projects that benefit the community, according to Neeley. She said she would love to form focus groups that involve different parts of the community. She said the numerous activities and events in Sidney is part of what makes Sidney a community.

"There's different things that even I didn't know about that are out there," she said.

She said being in a community she can be involved in is important to her. She talked of having a place to go for coffee on a Saturday morning, a public library, parks and numerous events.

"I want to make sure I'm a resource for people," she added.

She thinks of her self as collaborative, anxious to work with other people. She said she doesn't want to come into the office telling people things can only be done her way.

"It's going to be about them and not about me," she said.

She added that when there is something she can do, she will do it.

She said her work at the Chamber will focus on the community.

She and her husband live in the area with their two dogs.