Massey leaving executive director position at Fort Lupton Chamber

    Mixed feelings are all around as Fort Lupton Chamber Executive Director Dawn Massey steps down this month after 14 months of service to city businesses.

Photo by Gene Sears

Dawn Massey is leaving her job as executive director of the Fort Lupton Chamber of Commerce after a little more than a year on the job.

Buy this photo

    They have been good months for the city, with solid growth and arguably the best Trapper Days in recent memory. Central to that is the chamber, with Massey the recognizable ambassador, cultivating memberships, promoting Fort Lupton businesses, hosting luncheons and organizing the annual parade.
    Faced with some difficult choices, Massey is choosing to put her family foremost in her priorities, effective at the close of September.
    “Today is my last ‘official’ day,” Massey said in her office Thursday. “They haven’t found a replacement yet, so I said I would come in on Wednesdays and get the financials done and balance the checkbook. Then I will train whomever they get.
    “Its just family,” Massey said, of her reason to leave the job. “I just need to be there for my family. My kids are growing like crazy, and my husband is swamped at work. And we are still trying to keep that family farm thing alive.”
    Originally on the table in May, Massey delayed her departure until after Trapper Days to make certain the annual festival came off without a hitch. The fact that she stayed on was part of the community spirit she enjoyed during her tenure, as she became an integral part of the Fort Lupton
    “I enjoyed being a part of the community rather than just a member of the community, getting to know people,” Massey said. “Getting to know all the new people, planning the luncheons. Whenever there was a cry for help, whether it was for the food bank or school supplies, watching how everyone came forward to help with that, I really enjoyed it.”
    The job came with a few challenges, not the least of which was simply the time to get everything done in the course of a work day.
    “I think the biggest challenge is wanting the chamber to grow and businesses to grow in the city and the time involved to make that happen,” Massey said. “This position is four hours a day, and there is a lot you can do. But it takes the businesses, it takes the chamber, it takes the city to come together to make that happen.”
    Despite the challenges, Massey says she will miss being in touch with the day-to-day operations of the chamber and the people who made the job a fun one.
    “It was a very hard decision to make, mixed emotions. Let’s just put it at that,” Massey said. “Like (Chamber President Perry Bell) said, ‘family first.’”

Contact Gene Sears at 303-659-2522, ext. 217 or gsears@metrowestnewspapers.com.