Colfax chamber welcomes new president

Garth Meyer, Whitman County Gazette | Aug 12, 20210

COLFAX — A new Colfax Chamber of Commerce president started on Aug. 1.

Molly Keogh, formerly of Sammamish, moved to town last year and was approached about the position by Suzy McNeilly, Whitman County director of Southeast Washington Economic Development Association (SEWEDA), and Nancy Cochran, a member of the Colfax Downtown Association.

“One of my goals moving here was to help the community,” said Keogh, whose father, Jim Fitzgerald, is a longtime local landowner and has retired here.

Keogh previously owned a corporate gift company in Olympia, named Cedar Bay Company. She was a member of the Olympia Chamber of Commerce.

Now setting up in Colfax in the chamber’s new office in the back of The Center, Keogh said she intends to promote local businesses and the town as a destination to visit.

“It’s such a beautiful area,” she said.

The first event Keogh is overseeing is the chamber booth at Palouse Empire Fair.

She is the chamber’s lone paid employee, overseen by a volunteer board.

Previously, the office was at the Perkins House and then at The Mercantile. The move to The Center came when the Mercantile needed more space.

“I’m hoping to add some signage to help people get (to the new location),” said Keogh.

She mentioned working with other town entities such as the Colfax Arts Association, Whitman County Historical Society, and the Downtown Association.

“I’m hopeful we can all work together to leverage our various strengths to meet our goals to help businesses succeed and thrive,” Keogh said “There’s a lot of energy happening downtown. We hope to harness that and keep it going.”