Cathy Moreman leaving Chamber

If there is an event in Wimberley, she has been there. The last seven years of big smiles and greeting everyone to the Business Expo, weekly Chamber breakfasts, Wine Walks… you name it, she was probably there. One of Wimberley’s strongest ambassadors will leave her position of Executive Director of the Wimberley Chamber of Commerce at the end of the month.

“At the end of November, I’ll have been her seven plus years…I’m ready for something new,” Cathy Moreman, Executive Director of the Wimberley Chamber of Commerce, said. “I want to insure the Chamber will be able to move forward, and I’m happy to help with the transition to do that.”

This was the first job she held in Wimberley. The native Texan moved from Houston where she was an interior decorator, wedding planner and a graphic designer. All of them were training grounds for her present position.

“I grew in the job. I think I took it by the horns,” Moreman said. “I wanted to do a good job and I had the freedom to try new things with the chamber.”

She brags that she and her husband Robert were “the only two people to get paid to move to Wimberley.” She has had many successes, such as starting the Business Expo, but two particular achievements stand out.

“(The Chamber) recognized Wimberley is an artists’ Mecca and capitalized on both the artists and galleries to bring more patrons of the arts to Wimberley. The Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance was formed… through them, Wimberley was able to gain recognition as a Texas Cultural District from the Texas Commission on the Arts.”

The other success was having the Wimberley Valley recognized as a Dark Sky community. At the time, Wimberley was one of 29 recognized sites in the world. “We helped spearhead that effort at the Chamber,” Moreman said.

According to the International Dark Sky website, a Dark Sky designation affirms a community is “has shown exceptional dedication to the preservation of the night sky through the implementation and enforcement of a quality outdoor lighting ordinance, dark sky education and citizen support of dark skies. Dark Sky Communities excel in their efforts to promote responsible lighting and dark sky stewardship, and set good examples for surrounding communities.”

Moreman smiled, “Shannon du Plesis and Pam Showalter and others …we were able to get the International Dark Sky designation for the community. I feel those two designations were very important. They are close to my heart, and I hope their legacy will continue to outlive me. Astrotourism, to be able to see the sky at night, it benefits local business, and I get some of that enjoyment where I live. I’m proud of that.”

Of course there are regrets of what she will miss when she leaves the position. “I’ve made a lot of good friends and dozens of volunteers at the chamber. I’ll also miss the business owners that we can have dinners with… I’m not going to see people as often.” She continued, “The chamber is growing and being at the forefront can be exhausting.”

There was one incident that she also was proud of. It happened during the Memorial Day Flood.

“An Austin news truck kept showing the same piles of rubble next to the Blanco Bridge on Ranch Road 12. On the news they kept saying, ‘Wimberley has been washed away.’”

She pulled of the road and got in the face of the reporter eventually agreeing to an interview. “I got very maternal,” she said of her instinct to protect Wimberley in the moment. “They were hurting small business owners and development by saying we washed away. My maternal instincts came out.”

Many of Wimberley’s nonprofits have also been close to her heart.

“I’ll still be a big supporter of the arts, and the Lions and Market Day… I hope the community embraces the new director, whoever that might be, and works with the chamber to benefit all of the community.”

She plans on taking the month of December off before looking for her future career. “I’m not retiring and not leaving the area. I’m kind of excited about what the future will hold in terms of a career.”

If you are interested in applying for the Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Director, please contact Jerri Roberts, Chamber Board president at [email protected].