The Board of Directors voted unanimously Monday morning to hire Aaron Nelson, who will take over in late March. Nelson, who is currently UNC's interim director of Greek affairs and coordinator of local relations, will fill the position vacated by Joel Harper last November. "My final day at the University will be the 16th (of March)," Nelson said. "I will hope to start at the chamber no later than the 26th."
Nelson, who previously chaired the Committee for Community Betterment for the chamber's board of directors, said he is excited about his new position.
"I think that working for a nonprofit in Chapel Hill is a dream job," he said. "I have great affection for the town."
Nelson said he didn't so much apply for the job as he was recruited.
But Peter Tompkins, chairman of the chamber's Board of Directors, said Nelson was the top applicant out of 75 choices. "We pursued him as soon as we realized his application rose above the rest," he said.
Robert Humphreys of the Downtown Commission said he thinks Nelson's close ties to the University will help Nelson in his new position.
"I think that if he was available to the chamber, it's a good thing that they had the good sense to pick him," he said.
Tompkins said the chamber appreciated Nelson's attitude. "Aaron is a known person to the Board of Directors and has always had boundless enthusiasm for the chamber," he said. "His enthusiasm affects the rest of us. We're happy to be able to harness that full-time."
Nelson said he hopes to accomplish a lot with the chamber, but he wanted to spend some time with the organization before implementing changes.
