The Executive Director for Steinbach Chamber of Commerce has resigned.

President Tim Schmitt says after eighteen months in the position, Ben Dueck has stepped down in order to pursue other leadership opportunities. In the interim, Michelle Bezditny will fill that role. Bezditny is currently Membership Development Coordinator with the Chamber of Commerce.

"We've asked Michelle to do that and then it will be up to the board now to meet over the next little while and decide what the timeline looks like and who we're looking for to fill that spot and make sure we find the right person to continue that on," says Schmitt.

He says Bezditny will wear two hats for the next little while. Schmitt notes the board will have to decide whether to make a temporary hiring or to focus all of its attention on getting a new Executive Director in place. He adds at this point they do not have a timeline by when they hope to hire a permanent Executive Director, but says it is something the board will be working on right away.

"We haven't discussed a specific date in terms of whether it's two months or three months or six months from now," he says. "We'll be talking about that and making a decision in the next little while."

According to Schmitt, it will be business as usual at the Chamber. He says though Dueck did a lot of work, the Chamber is in a position to cover his absence and take care of things.

"We'll still definitely be business as usual, taking care of things and making sure we are supporting the business community," he adds. "Members need to know that though it is a little hiccup, hiccups do happen sometimes and not that we don't value Ben, but we do look forward to a positive future and we're continuing on in a good way."

Schmitt says Dueck did a lot of good things for the city. He notes one of the recent initiatives which Dueck quarterbacked was Burger Week, which happened in September in Steinbach.