Eureka Springs Chamber Picks Bishop as New CEO

The Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce recently appointed Mike Bishop, 54, its president and CEO.

Bishop, owner of the Pine Mountain Theater, has deep roots in the area and has been an active member of the chamber for some time. PMT was selected as the chamber’s business of the year in 2006, and Bishop its man of the year in 2007. He became a board member in 2008.

“Our chamber is different from a lot of others,” Bishop said in a news release. “We not only have to be the entity in town molding and shaping what happens in our business community, we need to address tourism needs here as well.

“The way I see it, the City Advertising and Promotion Commission has the challenge of creating advertising to bring visitors here, but the chamber is charged with making sure they have a good experience and return.”

Bishop also hopes to attract “some soft industry … businesses without smokestacks, like telemarketing call centers, or computer companies” to boost non-tourism industry growth.