Village Profile® Home Page | About our Company | Sales Opportunities | Community eStore | vpmobile.us®

Rancho Mirage Chamber Board of Directors

Colleen A. Charrette, CPA, CVA

Colleen has been a member of the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce since 1990 when she opened her accounting practice at Bob Hope and Highway 111 where The River is now located. She has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1991 and has held all officer positions including Chairman in 1996 and 2005. Colleen is very dedicated to accomplishing the Board of Directors’ goals for the Chamber, as well as setting new goals for the continued growth and success of the Chamber. In her free time, Colleen works as a race official for various organizations; plays pool in a local billiard league; and walks her dogs, Cody and Lucky.

Michael Crandal
Thunderbird Country Club

Michael began his career in private club management at The Carriage Club in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1973. With just a few stops along the career path, Michael accepted the offer to become Thunderbird’s general manager/chief operating officer in June 2005. Prior to joining Thunderbird he was with Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Illinois, for over 10 years. Exmoor celebrated its Centennial Year in ’96 and achieved “Platinum Club of America” status during his tenure. Michael and his wife Kim were married three years ago in Chicago.

Matthew Creighton
Thai Smile of Rancho Mirage

Matthew moved to the desert about two years ago, after buying the Thai Smile restaurant at Rancho Las Palmas Shopping Center. A native of Alberta, Canada, Matthew graduated from New York’s Culinary Institute of America and later received his degree in hotel/restaurant management from Cal Poly Pomona. Matthew has worked in most every capacity in restaurants and is also proficient with computer programming. Matthew; his wife Irene; and their five-year-old son, Bennett, make their home in Rancho Mirage.

Art Gregoire
Windermere Real Estate

Art is a real estate agent with Windermere Real Estate. Prior to his career in real estate, he worked for over 35 years in healthcare. He was the director of nursing at Rancho Mirage Healthcare from 1995-2002. This facility was the recipient of the “E” award for Excellence during his tenure with the company. Originally from Rhode Island, Art and his partner Terry moved to the valley permanently in 1995. Art likes to give back to the community by volunteering to entertain residents at several nursing and retirement homes as “The King,” Elvis Presley. Art has been a Board Director for four years and served as Chairman of the Board in 2008.

Chris Jack
Black Angus Steakhouse

Chris moved to the Greater Palm Springs area four years ago to escape the congestion and smog of L.A. Chris was born in Oklahoma City and attended the University of Oklahoma. Chris has been working for Black Angus for almost 12 years. He rose through the ranks of Black Angus and is now the general manager of the Rancho Mirage location. He and his wife Michelle are parents to a three-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. Chris has served as Secretary of the Board of Directors and has been on the Board for three years.

Linda Long
Lamar Outdoor Advertising

Linda moved to the desert eight years ago, after a 23-year career as a stockbroker for Dean Witter/Morgan Stanley in Cleveland, Ohio. Linda is married and is the mother of two daughters; her eldest is a pediatrician and serves in the Navy Hospital at the 29 Palms Marine Base, and her younger daughter is a college student at Azusa Pacific University. Linda grew up in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in business administration. She is married and makes her home in La Quinta. Linda is the Chairwoman of the Board for 2009.

Pat Manhart
Advanced Hearing Systems

Pat and her husband, Joe, have owned Advanced Hearing Systems at the Rancho Las Palmas Shopping Center for nine years and have recently opened a second location near Sun City. She has been serving the hearing impaired since 1959. Pat served as president of Los Angeles County’s hearing aid dispenser’s organization for four years and was the vice president of the California State Association. Pat taught hearing aid dispensing at Cerritos Community College for three years, and she has two children and one grandson following her footsteps in the hearing aid business. She and Joe have belonged to the Chamber of Commerce in every city they have had a business. She believes that the Chamber is the heartbeat of the City. Pat and Joe Manhart live in the Thunderbird area of Rancho Mirage.

Randy Mueller
Eisenhower Medical Center

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Randy Mueller graduated from Concordia Seminary with a Doctor of Ministry degree with an emphasis on leadership training and organization. He served as a Lutheran parish pastor for 15 years before beginning his fundraising career at Concordia University near Milwaukee. Twenty years later, in October 2006, Randy became the planned giving officer at Eisenhower Medical Center. Randy and his wife, Colleen, have two grown daughters, one grown son and three grandchildren. When not hard at work, Randy is hard at play on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Missy Poirier
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Spirits

Missy Poirier is the general manager of the Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Spirits restaurant in La Quinta. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Missy attended culinary arts school and took an internship with the Disney Corporation in Orlando, Florida. After her internship, she followed her parents to California and worked for a large hotel corporation in the San Diego area. She learned management skills and learned many different cuisines while there preparing food for the seven different restaurants at the resort. She moved to the Greater Palm Springs area six years ago and has worked in restaurant management. Missy has been an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Restaurant Association since coming to Rancho Mirage.

Sheldon Robinson
Robinson Marketing Enterprises

Sheldon operates Robinson Marketing Enterprises, which markets products and develops property. He was formerly senior vice president for stores and senior vice president for marketing of Home Department for RH Macy Inc., where he merchandised and developed the “cellar” concept at Macy’s West in San Francisco. Sheldon is a former member and board director of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and served as president of the Sacramento Downtown Merchants Association for over three years. He is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Rancho Mirage. Sheldon is the author of the recently published book Wake Up America: Your Alarm Is Ringing. He co-founded and is the chief financial officer of the Nurses Crisis Foundation, a group formed to help solve the nursing shortage in the Coachella Valley.

Walter Russo
Windermere Real Estate

Walter Russo is a real estate broker and realtor selling real estate in the Palm Springs Valley. Walter first came to the desert in 1972 to help his parents find their retirement home. Once he spent a winter here enjoying the desert’s glorious weather, he could not bring himself to return to New York’s harsh winters. Walter is proud to have established a reputation of specializing in residential properties all over the Coachella Valley. He believes that client satisfaction is the number one reason for being in business. Walter’s success is measured by an unwavering dedication to his clients and by offering high-tech professional and personalized service. Residing in the Coachella Valley for over 30 years, Walter has many very happy clients.

Kristen Seddon
El Paseo Bank

Kristen Seddon began her banking career over 10 years ago, initially working for Valley Independent Bank and Union Bank in Palm Desert. She is currently an assistant vice president and branch manager for El Paseo Bank. Ms. Seddon, who has held marketing and business development positions with the bank during the past six years, is running the bank’s new facility at Country Club Village. In her free time, Ms. Seddon is an experienced horsewoman, winning many national championships and top world rankings riding in the American Paint Horse circuit as an amateur. She has served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert, is a member of the Desert Contractors Association, and past member of Junior League.

Charles Townsend
The Charles Townsend Collection

Charles Townsend has been a resident of Rancho Mirage for the past 12 years. He moved here from Pasadena where he lived and ran The Charles Townsend Collection, furniture and accessories store for 25 years. Charles and Gordon Moller, his partner of 37 years, opened their business in Rancho Mirage seven years ago when they purchased the property for their store. Charles is a supporter of many local charities and a past board member of the Desert Rainbow Foundation, an educational scholarship program. Charles has served as a director of the Chamber Board for the past two and a half years.

Stuart W. Ackley
President/CEO

Stuart came to work as the CEO of the Rancho Mirage Chamber in June 1995 after holding the same position in the Banning Chamber for three years. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in broadcast journalism. Prior to his Chamber career, Stuart spent eight years opening new restaurants and then attended the MBA program at Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee. A lifelong musician, Stuart currently plays euphonium in a community band and in a regional polka band. He was proud to serve on the city’s last General Plan Update Commission and is currently a member of the Housing Commission. Stuart enjoys raising basset hounds, arranging music, genealogy and reading history. Email: Stuart@RanchoMirage.org

Darren Zetena
Director of Communications and Finance

Darren has been working at the Rancho Mirage Chamber since August 2003 and is the Chamber’s “jack-of-all trades.” He is also responsible for Special Events Coordination and Membership. Darren moved to California in 1993 after living in the metro Washington, D.C., area for 20 years where he had a successful career in the banking industry. He continued in banking when he moved to San Francisco and attended San Francisco City College where he studied architecture and design. Darren moved to Palm Springs in 2000 and operated a design business for several years. He enjoys long-distance running, cooking and the great outdoors. Email: Darren@RanchoMirage.org

Patricia K. Szymik
Administrative Assistant

Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Wisconsin, Patty escaped the Midwest in August 2008. Patty spent much of her adult life dealing with books, first as a manager for Walden Books for over 20 years and later with Barnes & Noble. Widowed in 1994, she stopped working for several years to raise her only daughter, Samantha, now a first-year student at COD. Patty has been in awe of the great weather in the desert and enjoys animals (two golden retrievers and two exotic birds), music and theater, and good food and wine from local restaurants. Email: Patty@RanchoMirage.org

Eve Phillips
Visitor Information & Services

Eve moved to Southern California from Chicago in 1963 and has lived in both the high and low desert. Always one to keep busy, Eve helped her husband with his insurance business and worked a variety of jobs in the real estate and resort industry for many years. Not content with retirement, she volunteered for several charity organizations and became a Chamber Ambassador 21 years ago. She began working at the Chamber when it was decided to keep the doors open on Saturdays back in 1998. Eve enjoys reading; spending time with her dachshund, Pretzel; and helping visitors to the Greater Palm Springs area. She aspires to parachute from a plane on her 90th birthday.

Tarbell, Realtors - Preferred Properties