by Kevin Cody
Hermosa Beach’s popular, though sometimes polarizing, blue-haired Chamber of Commerce president Jessica Accamando announced in an email to chamber members on Monday she is leaving her position.
“It is with mixed emotions that I write to you today to announce my transition out of the role of President and CEO of the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce…. Together, we have weathered unprecedented challenges and uncertainties brought on by the global pandemic. I am immensely proud of the resilience and determination demonstrated by our local businesses during these trying times,” she wrote.
Since being appointed to lead the chamber during COVID in February 2021, Accamando has reenergized the tradition bound organization, doubling its membership, and replacing the Labor Day Weekend Fiesta with smaller, more locally oriented fall events, including last year’s Hermosa Avenue Octoberfest. She also updated the chambers’s annual awards dinner by moving it from hotel banquet rooms to the Lighthouse Cafe, and updating the award categories — replacing Man and Woman of the Year with Person of the Year, and adding awards for Made in Hermosa, First Responder, and D.I.G (Diverse, Inclusive, Gender-Equal).
Accamando’s background is in social media, which she used heavily to promote chamber activities. She said she is undecided on her future “project.”
But she also hopes to remain active in the chamber. She said she will remain in her Chamber position until a new Chamber president is hired.
“I’m looking forward to time out of the limelight and being a regular resident,” she said. ER
