Shore, who has served as president and chief executive officer of the chamber for five years, announced her resignation earlier this aKirk Ballard, chairman of the chamber’s board of directors, told the Citizen when reached Wednesday morning, that the business of the chamber will fall to the board and what he describes as a veteran staff, and that an interim president will not be named while the chamber undertakes the process of hiring a replacement, one he said could take months.

While Shore’s decision was sudden, Ballard said he was not surprised, based on her recent designation as a Certified Chamber Executive by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE).

“We were kind of afraid we were going to lose her when she got that designation,” Ballard said. “Only a couple hundred people have received this award, so it’s kind of a feather in her cap.”

Shore could not be reached for comment prior to press time.