SEQUIM — A new executive director has been chosen to lead the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber board voted unanimously Thursday night to hire Vickie Maples, a former community and economic development manager who’s worked in Delano and Porterville, Calif.

Maples has an apt connection to Sequim and the changes it has undergone in recent years: Her grandparents’ family farm used to be where Wal-Mart is now on Sequim’s west side.

Maples, 51, has been visiting family, including her grandmother Eunice Robb, here since she was a toddler.

She finally moved to Sequim permanently in February and continued to work as a private consultant to municipalities back in California.

She’s licensed in that state as a real estate broker and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University in Fresno.

Maples’ experience working with city governments gave her the edge, chamber board president Bill Littlejohn said Thursday.

The other finalist for the executive director position was Mark Ozias, manager of the Sequim Open Aire Market and vice chairman of the Sequim Planning Commission.

“Mark is a good guy,” Littlejohn said, adding that he was highly impressed with Ozias’ accomplishments, which include running A New Leaf, a small nursery, and turning the Open Aire Market into a bustling Saturday gathering of some 75 vendors.