A familiar face has taken the reigns at the Jasper chamber of commerce.

Leigh Abra has been named as the interim general manager of Jasper Tourism and Commerce.

Abra has been working for the chamber for a year and a half, and currently has a contract with the organization until the end of December. The job is a step up from her previous position as assistant manager.

“I’m happy to be helping out,” Abra said.

Abra first came to Jasper four years ago for work.

She had worked in Banff and the Caribbean before moving to Jasper to work with Treks and Travel four years ago, so she’s quite familiar with the task at hand.

“I’m doing the same job I’ve always done, attending the North American shows. I did Mexico this year and right now, we’ve been contracted by JDMC for their winter marketing campaign,” Abra said.

Abra said there will be a lot of changes at the chamber over the next few months, as JDMC continues its changes under a new executive director. The roles of both organizations will continue to work themselves out over the coming months.

“We can’t have two parallel organizations. There’s a lot that’s still up in the air,” Abra said.

She is under contract until December 31, 2009 as the chamber continues to search for a permanent replacement for Helen Kelleher-Empey, who left in September. Abra said she’s still in contact with Kelleher-Empey, who is providing plenty of support to ease the transition. Much of that work will include preparations for Jasper in January.

Abra is also upgrading her own skill set, as she is working on earning a marketing certificate.

It isn’t the only change in the chamber office. Calla Medig has returned to the organization as an administrative assistant, taking over for Pamela Trofenko.

“We still need people in the office,” Abra said.

Leigh is also canvassing the community for nominations for the organization’s award of distinction. Each year since 2002, one business and one individual have been given the award for their work in the Jasper business community. Past winners include Mountain Park Lodge, Dwain Wacko and Joe Couture.

“The award reflects the spirit and success of the small business community,” Abra said. “The criteria is you have to be a member of the JTC and you can’t have won in the previous five years.”

Businesses and individuals can nominate themselves.