Paula Vistad sits at her desk in the executive director’s office of the Devils Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.
Through her decade of serving the Devils Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, Paula Vistad has led a variety of efforts to benefit its members.
Now, the Chamber and its membership is working to fill the director vacancy as Vistad announced her plans to retire this April, which wasn’t an easy decision for her to make.
“The office team I have worked with has always been top notch and professional. I can’t take credit for anything without putting them first and foremost. Each board member I have had the honor to work for has been amazing, never have I had one moment where there was an issue. We have always worked together as a staff and board to get the job done. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work and learn from some of the best businesspeople in Devils Lake,” she said.
Through her tenure the Chamber tackled some large projects with the most memorable project being the Downtown Revitalization Project along with the City of Devils Lake.
“The unique character of our Devils Lake Downtown Revitalization Project draws people from outside the area for the shopping experience they can only get here in Devils Lake. Some of the retail uses include restaurants, retail in both apparel and furnishings along with much more,” Vistad said.
Another memorable project is Bridgestone Park. This community owned park is a project the Chamber, City, and Park Board have addressed to create some green space in the downtown area.
“I am so proud of it. We are slowly getting there but it will provide the community a place to hold events and one day things like the farmers market, community concerts, and more. It will have endless possibilities. The LRHC utilized it for their Art Festival, and it was a wonderful success.”
Vistad has also witnessed many changes in the past 10 years. Technological changes are the biggest transformation she’s experienced since taking the helm of the chamber in 2013.
The Devils Lake Chamber and Tourism areas are keeping up with the latest trends in the tech world, which Vistad said she’s not in any way going to take credit for, but she feels Devils Lake is right up there with the best of them, when it comes to statistics and analytics. A new website was recently launched that will provide new and efficient ways to promote the area and its events.
“We have come a long way in being able to bring the latest numbers to our membership and tourists alike,” she said.
Another big change is the demographics of business members.
“We used to be a 90 percent or higher male dominated business owner members, I am happy to say that there is a large majority of female owned or managed businesses within or membership,” she said.
Finally, the growth of members and services is another observed change.
“We are always looking for ways to increase community and business involvement such as events like Ribfest, member features like Center Stage video highlights, and member development through the Coffee & Collaborate series.
Vistad is proud to see events like the Chamber Walleye Tournament back to historical high participation levels.
“Soon after I first started I was told that I should just drop the tournament because it was dying and had less than 40 participants. While anyone who knows me, knows that’s a challenge and that was all I needed to hear…we were going to get that tournament back on track! And, that’s just what we did… now we have come close to maxing out the limit of teams every year since! None of which could have been done without the help of my team…I owe it all to them,” she said.
Vistad also is proud of creating the Coffee & Collaborate series that was thought up over a cup of coffee. That program of educational pieces for the Chamber membership has been going now for the past six years.
The Chamber Board of Directors is working on filling Vistad’s position. The job has been posted with a deadline for applications February 4 and screening to occur soon after. The job posting can be found on the Chamber website: devilslakend.com and is being advertised in a variety of areas.
After retirement, Vistad plans to stay active on the boards she currently serves and hopefully seek out community service work as needed.
“But, first I might just relax,” she said.
