Like most of the jobs she’s had during her career, Gena Wales wasn’t looking to become the next executive director of the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce. But when the job crossed her path, she knew it was the right move.

Wales, 54, has been in her new position with the chamber for about a month and is just getting moved in to her office.

“I’m actually trying to figure out how the phones work,” she joked. “It’s the little things that throw me.”

Before last month, Wales had spent the past 10 years with the Bremerton Symphony. She was executive director there since 2008. Prior to that she was marketing director and worked with the Youth Symphony doing outreach and education.

She happened into that job, too.

“A friend I knew in the Rotary mentioned that the symphony was looking for someone to market it outside of Kitsap County,” she said. “He said ‘You’d be perfect for the job.’ And that was that.”

Her work included putting together packages for people from Seattle and other places to come to Bremerton, stay over in a hotel, have a nice dinner and hear the symphony.

She was quite happy as executive director at the symphony. But when she heard that former Bremerton Chamber Executive Director Mike Strube was leaving, she decided it was time for a change.

“This was a challenge for me,” she said. “I knew I was leaving the symphony with  better finances than (there) had been in some time and I was ready to try something else.”

Strube left in September for a sales and marketing position with Dex Media in Silverdale. He had been executive director since 2010.

The chamber has 315 members, including business owners downtown, along Wheaton Way, in East Bremerton and even some from other places like Silverdale and Port Orchard. Wales considers her primary goal to be to market those members and their businesses and to improve communications.

“It’s all about promoting and supporting local businesses,” she said. “And making sure that our communication is topnotch.”

While she sees growth and new activity in the core downtown, she knows businesses along Wheaton Way are struggling.

“That’s something we’re going to be addressing,” she said.

Prior to the symphony, Wales had a career in retail management. She grew up in North Kitsap County and worked for Nordstrom’s and The Bon in Seattle.

Then, she took time off to be a full time mom and was active in her sons’ school PTA. She has two sons, Ryan, who now studies business and manages a restaurant in Ellensburg, and Connor, who is a junior at Central Washington University. Her husband, Doug, is retired after a long career with The Bon, Bon Marche, Bon Macy’s and Macy’s.

She’s been an active East Bremerton Rotary member since 2001 and is the current foundation president.

And a little-know fact about her is that with all her business background, she doesn’t like public speaking.

“I’m not really very good at it,” she said. “I’m going to be depending on the (chamber) membership to help me with that.”

The Bremerton Chamber meets every third Tuesday of the month. The next meeting is Dec. 16 at 11:30 a.m. at the Youth Wellness Campus in East Bremerton. For more about the chamber, go to www.bremertonchamber.org, or call 360-479-3579.