Elk Rapids Names New Chamber Head

The Elk Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce has hired Tom Kern of Traverse City as its new executive director. He replaces Misty Youngson, who left the organization last fall.

Kern recently returned to Traverse City from Steamboat Springs, Colo., where he was CEO of the Chamber Resort Association there. He also previously held CEO and COO positions at the chambers in Lawrence, Kansas; Fairfax County, Virginia; and Cincinnati, Ohio. Kern was also the executive director of the National Cherry Festival from 1991 to 2005.