By Robert Perea
Marcel Wagner wasn’t looking for a job when he approached Fernley Chamber of Commerce President Shannon Ceresola earlier this year offering to help as a volunteer. But his background as an economic development executive and his ideas to help the Chamber grow turned out to be the perfect fit as the Chamber was looking to hire a new manager.
Now four months into the job, Wagner has more than gotten his feet wet; he’s diving in headfirst to help fortify Chamber membership and strengthen relationships with some of Fernley’s larger industrial businesses.
Wagner started as Chamber manager in May and said he is enjoying his role representing the Chamber’s dual functions of advocating for local businesses and serving as a window to the community for visitors.
Wagner and his wife Karen moved to Fernley in 2021 from Quincy, IL, where he served as the President of the Great River Economic Development Foundation. Before that, he served for 23 years as the President and CEO of the Allen Economic Development Group in Lima, OH. He had previously spent 15 years in manufacturing with Nationwide Industries in Philadelphia, PA.
“This is like my third retirement job,” Wagner said.
He retired for the first time in 2012 but got a call from a friend who said Quincy was looking for a person to reinvigorate their economic development organization on a three-year contract. Three years became 10, before Wagner decided it was time to retire again. This time, he and Karen were visiting her family in Sparks, and while driving around the area, saw some nice homes under construction in Fernley and decided this was the place.
“One of the things we looked at was, is the community investing in itself?” Wagner said. “When you look at the In Town Park, the Out of Town Park, all those types of amenities are important. Having a community swimming pool. These are excellent things that make Fernley a good community.”
They moved to Fernley in December 2021, but after a couple of months of settling in, Wagner decided he wanted a way to stay active and busy. He joined the Reno Corvette Club and joined the Hot August Nights Drag Race Committee, while Karen also volunteers with Hot August Nights and on the North Lyon Fire Rehab Team.
When he met with Ceresola about opportunities to volunteer with the Chamber, Wagner was working at International Paper, a manufacturer of packaging products in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. But when Ceresola said the Chamber needed a full-time administrator, Wagner figured his background and skill set fit right in with what the Chamber needs.
“My impression and the impression I got from several other people I talked to, was the Chamber was focused on small businesses, which are critically important, but that it hadn’t had the interaction with the larger industries in town, and to me that was important because you need that,” he said.
In addition, the Chamber is also the place visitors come looking for information about the area, especially those participating in the Pony Express Passport Program.
“Every day we get people in here to get their passports signed, they have questions about local businesses,” Wagner said. “We get a ton of calls, and that’s part of the chamber function, to promote local businesses. Whether it’s a small business or a large business, they’re all important to the community and they all have their place.”
While he’s focused on building relationships with Fernley businesses large and small, Wagner said he sees his role as setting things up for his eventual successor to keep the Chamber strong.
“What’s been amazing to me is as basically a volunteer organization, how well they’ve done,” he said. “It’s really a testament to their desire to have this become a good organization.”
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