The Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce has a new director. Ryland Miller will led the organization. Miller moved to Ottawa from Harrisonville, Missouri in 2015 to attend Ottawa University. In 2019, Miller began work with the Ottawa Chamber as an intern and remained in this position during his time as a graduate student. After graduation in May 2021 Miller began full-time as Ottawa Chamber’s Community Liaison. His major responsibilities have been member relations, communications, membership development and digital marketing.
Chamber Board Chair, Kevin James says they couldn’t be more excited to hire Miller, saying that it was an exhaustive search which netted 11-potential candidates from multiple states. He says it turns out that what they were looking for was right in front of them the whole time and ultimately rose to the top. Miller received his BA in Exercise Science at Ottawa University in may 2019, and received his Masters in May of 2021. He says he and his wife, Makala, who is doing her student teaching at Lincoln Elementary, are ecstatic for the chance to work in Ottawa. He added that they both love the community and are looking forward to seeing it grow and prosper and they hope to raise their family here. Miller takes over for John Coen who will retire at the end of this month.
