“We’re very excited to have Derotha Ferraro come to work with us,” said SPH Inc. chief executive officer Charlie Franz. “We think she’s going to be a tremendous asset.”

Ferraro will work directly with Franz to publicize the hospital’s programs and services and to help identify community needs. She will also write grants to find funding for new or current hospital projects.

“I can’t imagine loving another job the way I love this one, and feeling like what I did mattered,” Ferraro said of her chamber position. “But I’m going to give it a try.”

Bondioli said the board meets this week to come up with a transition plan while it searches for a new executive director. Ferraro and her family take a planned vacation next week, and when she comes back, she will guide the chamber through the end of the tourist season and the chamber’s halibut derby.

Ferraro came to Alaska in the summer of 1993, when she worked as a volunteer with Kachemak Bay State Park. She met her husband, Gary Harris, while also working part-time as a waitress at Don Jose’s Restaurant that summer. In the spring of 1994 Ferraro started working with the chamber as coordinator of the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. She became interim director in May 1995 and was appointed director in August 1995.

Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Ferraro graduated with a bachelor of arts in communications from Bethany College, Bethany, Pa. Before moving to Alaska she worked in advertising and promotion at the Washington Post and at the National 4-H Council in Washington, D.C.

Bondioli praised Ferraro’s accomplishments as chamber director.

“She’s contributed tremendously to the growth and success of our chamber, leaving it in a strong, sustainable position,” Bondioli said. “We are thrilled to have her skills and commitment now be dedicated to South Peninsula Hospital.”

During Ferraro’s directorship, chamber membership grew from 270 to 584, the chamber moved from a double-wide trailer to a permanent office and visitor center and the chamber was named “Outstanding Chamber of the Year” for two years by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce.

Ferraro said she’s proud of the strong volunteer support at the chamber both in running the chamber and serving on committees.

“It’s a piece of our success,” she said. “It’s impressive to see that level of team work happen amongst a group of adults who are competitors.”

Ferraro learned about the hospital job while working with the chamber’s Economic Development Committee with the medical services subcommittee. SPH Inc. board member Barbara Howard was on the subcommittee and mentioned a position for a marketing director and grant writer had been approved. Ferraro said she became interested in medical services in Homer after the birth of her child, Delilah, two years ago. Hearing about the marketing director position got her thinking, she said.

“I looked at the job and thought, ‘This can be another way to serve my town,’” Ferraro said. “Finding another similar job … It was pretty neat to have one, boom, fall right into my lap.”

Bondioli said the chamber’s mission is to improve quality of life in Homer. Ferraro’s new job is another way for her to work on that mission, she said.

“In many way’s she continuing the work she’s done with the chamber,” Bondioli said. “We will miss her. It’s a great opportunity for her,” she added.