PNBA’s Chambliss Announces Plans to Retire, Search Begins for New Executive Director

After more than 20 years at the helm of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, on Tuesday, November 3, Thom Chambliss announced his plans to retire by spring 2016. In an e-mail to PNBA members, Chambliss said that he hopes to leave his position as executive director by the end of February, but would be available to his successor to help with the transition. He also offered assurances that the association’s other key staff members would remain in their positions for at least another year.

Noting the toll that this fall’s PNBA trade show took on him, Chambliss said, “I do believe that the association will benefit from new leadership and will have a better chance of growing and offering more services in the hands of a younger, more energetic director.”

The PNBA Board has already begun working on finding his replacement, Chambliss said, and will soon post a job description and instructions for those interested in submitting a résumé and letters of recommendation.

Coming to work for PNBA in 1993 “was the best decision that I ever made,” Chambliss said. “Being able to work for people who love the written word, and who go home to read every night, instead of to the bars to drink, has given my life so much more pleasure than I had hoped. It has been a real honor to serve PNBA, and I hope that it has been at least half as good for you as it has been for me.”

The PNBA Board is asking anyone interested in applying for the position of executive director to send a completed application with a resumé and references by Monday, November 30, 2015. Complete details are available on the PNBA website.