Maroulis to guide Chamber

By Nick Grabbe
Staff Writer

Published on August 29, 2008

When Tony Maroulis first visited Amherst in 1999, he walked through downtown with his wife Nora, and they ate apple pie at Atkins Farms Country Market. He was working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and was impressed by a town that seemed to have both beautiful countryside and big-city amenities.

"I remember saying that if I ever had to leave New York, this is the place I'd love to be," he said.

On Sept. 15, Maroulis will become the new executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. He compared Amherst to a little Brooklyn to Northampton's Manhattan - and said the town is enjoying a similar cultural renaissance.

"I've noticed things have changed in the last few years," he said. "The Amherst Cinema Center opened, and I've seen people from Northampton show up at Chez Albert. It seems that Amherst is coming alive. There have always been great things here, and now a lot of wonderful new blood is combining with business leaders who have been around for a while, and we can be going places."

Maroulis, 36, is the co-founder and director of wünderarts, a gallery that opened a year ago on Main Street. Since 2006 he's been the coordinator of Museums10, a consortium emphasizing cultural tourism whose BookMarks series in late 2007 brought 70,000 people to the Valley. He also spent two years as coordinator of development and marketing at the Emily Dickinson Museum.

"As a business owner, I have a perspective like business owners," he said. "I understand the challenge of downtown and the need to get people through your door."

Early career

Maroulis worked at the Metropolitan Museum from 1997 to 2002. A native of Ocean Grove, N.J., he graduated from Rutgers in 1994, studying English and journalism.

He and Nora live in Pelham with their children, Sofia, 7, and Mickey, 4. He is a member of the Amherst Club and serves on the Town Commercial Relations Committee and the Pelham Cultural Council.

"He has dynamism and marketing spark and a personality that makes you want to be a part of things," said Cinda Jones, the Chamber president. "His drive and enthusiasm are infectious. His energy makes me confident that people will perceive Amherst as an exciting place to be."

After Patty Brandts announced she was leaving the Chamber position, Jones and others interviewed 15 people looking for a successor, she said. The Chamber was familiar with Maroulis' work and asked him to apply, she said.

His experience as a business owner and nonprofit manager made him well-qualified for the position, Jones said. He has been through the process of getting a permit from Town Hall and is acquainted with many governmental leaders, she said.

"I believe that other communities have a personalities that are more well known," Jones said. "Tony thinks Amherst's personality is more exciting than people know and he can't wait to communicate it."

Able collaborator

The Chamber is talking more to its counterparts in Northampton and Easthampton about attracting business to the region, she said.

The Chamber has increased its impact on governmental decision-making ("It was a social group when I joined seven years ago," Jones said), and the theme for the coming year is "Partners in Progress." It also wants to continue its "Shop Local" campaign, she said.

Maroulis is good at collaborating with people and thinking regionally, said Joan Temkin, the Chamber's membership and marketing director. He's already been successful at promoting the area, she said.

"He'll be a tremendous cheerleader for Amherst, and particularly the strength of the arts," she said. "He's gotten the attention of the New York media, and brings with him something we've never had: a knowledge of how to get our story out there to the larger world."

The Maroulises came to Amherst when Nora, who has family in the Springfield area, became director of marketing and development at the new Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in 2002. She resigned that position last spring to concentrate on consulting, and this greater flexibility freed her husband to pursue a full-time position, he said.

"I'd like to see an increased emphasis on the arts as an anchor," Maroulis said. "I'd like to let more people know exactly what's here in town. We were walking around downtown on a nice August night recently, and downtown looked pretty lively."