Chamber president ‘Executive of Year’

Eileen Curtis is no stranger to success. The president and chief executive officer of the Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce was named “Executive of the Year” by the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives last month.

Mrs. Curtis originally worked in the radio industry, as director of music and cultural affairs at WGMS (103.5-FM), the District’s classical-music station. But after 20 years, she gave it up to become a full-time mother.

Instead of returning to the airwaves, she took the chamber position 10 years ago.

“It was nice to challenge myself with a career change and know that I could succeed in a second career,” she said.

In her radio-station days, she won two Armstrong Medals, the highest honor given by the Radio Club of America Inc.

She also won a George Foster Peabody Award — often cited as the most prestigious award in electronic media — and two Gabriel Awards, sponsored by Unda-USA, a professional organization of Catholic communicators working in radio and television.

Her most recent award was given at the annual meeting of the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (VACCE), held in Lynchburg, Va., June 16-17.

In addition to being named Executive of the Year, Mrs. Curtis is also the newly appointed vice president for membership for the VACCE.

Her responsibilities will include helping chambers and their staffs find the most effective ways to promote chambers and attract more businesses.

“Her vision has led a quiet small-town chamber to become a major-impact player in the community and a catalyst for economic development,” said Scott Gessay, chief executive officer of FGM Inc., a software-engineering company headquartered in Reston, and former chairman of the Herndon Dulles Chamber.

Since she was hired 10 years ago, Mrs. Curtis has quadrupled the chamber’s revenues. She is credited with having tackled many issues in the area — including securing funds for an English-language program for the area’s Latin American immigrant laborers and advocating a revised financing package for the Dulles rail project.

“Eileen embodies a ’can do’ mentality, a remarkable vision and a servant’s attitude that are catalysts in making the Herndon Dulles Chamber an influential player in Northern Virginia,” said Rex Hammond, president and CEO of Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and former VACCE president.

During her tenure, the chamber opened the Herndon Dulles Visitors Center and started an outdoor concert series to attract customers to the businesses in downtown Herndon and help fund the chamber and community programs.

Also under her direction, the chamber earned an award from Fairfax County Public Schools and expanded its geographic reach into Chantilly and Centreville.

She serves on the boards of Vecinos Unidos/Neighbors United, Committee for Dulles, Council for the Arts of Herndon, Herndon Cultural Arts Foundation and Washington Concert Opera.

Mrs. Curtis lives in Great Falls with her husband, Marshall, a partner at Whitham Curtis & Christofferson, an intellectual-property law firm in Reston, and her mother, Julia Donigan.

— Kate Finneren