Camilla Townsend, President/CEO of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce during the past five years announced her resignation today effective August 31, 2011.

"I do this with much gratitude to the Board of Directors for recruiting me five years ago to accept this position to facilitate a change in the mission and operations of the chamber to better address the then emerging needs of business and of the community at large. Now it is time for me to pursue other opportunities and turn over to the next generation of leaders and organizational managers the opportunity to serve as leader of the chamber."

"Over the past 6 years Camilla has transformed the San Pedro of Chamber of Commerce into a well respected organization. She is a visionary, a true leader and has demonstrated the power of collaboration across multiple public and private organizations. Although Camilla's departure will be truly missed, the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce will best serve her work by continuing to build upon the strong and respected foundation that she has built", said Anthony Pirozzi, Chairman of the San Pedro Chamber Board

Pirozzi said that the Board of Directors would begin the search for Townsend's successor shortly, and Townsend has agreed to assist the Board in both the selection process and the smooth transition to a new President /CEO.

With a membership of over 500 and an annual budget of $800,000, the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce ranks 11th on the 2011 list of Chambers of Commerce in the greater Los Angeles area as published in the Los Angeles Business Journal.  The chamber recently was acknowledged as the Chamber of the Year by the Los Angeles Chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives.