Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County leader earns certification

STATE COLLEGE — Vern Squier, president and CEO of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, was awarded the designation of Pennsylvania Certified Chamber Executive during the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Chamber Professionals held at Toftrees Golf Resort on Oct. 27.  

The PaCCE program was established in 2008 to promote the chamber of commerce field as a profession and to recognize those individuals who have attained an established level of achievement within this profession in Pennsylvania. The PaCCE designation is awarded to those demonstrating a combination of chamber experience, service to PACP, professional achievements and continuing education, according to a release from PACP. 
The designation is meant to encourage chamber boards of directors to recognize and value the expertise and skill possessed by a chamber professional and to encourage chamber executives and senior management staff to continually enhance and expand their skills through the pursuit of professional development related to the areas of chamber leadership and management. 
The process for attaining this designation includes achieving a minimum of 70 points on the PaCCE application, which includes an essay discussing the candidate’s chamber management and leadership philosophy; recommendations from the current board chair, a past board chair and two PACP peers; at least five years of continuous service as a chamber of commerce executive or senior management staff member; enrollment in or completion of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute Program, and/or achievement of the designation of Certified Chamber Executive or Certified Association Executive; and being in good standing with PACP.
Squier is just the fourth chamber executive in the state to achieve this status. In 2010, the designation was presented to Larry Bowman, formerly with the Lebanon Valley Chamber,  and Sally Haas, formerly with the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber; in 2013, the designation was awarded to Eileen Dautrich, of the TriCounty Area Chamber.