The new visitor and member relations coordinator at the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce is thrilled with her new position.

Michelle Davis said she is the perfect fit for the job.

Davis grew up in Rockport and in 1987 she attended a travel and trade school in Pittsburgh, Pa., Wilma Boyd.

She said travel has been her focus ever since.

“The school totally prepared me for this job. This is my third job in the travel field,” she said.

She has been living in the Boothbay area since 1987. Her first job in Boothbay Harbor in was with a travel agency. “I was hired by Patricia West at Harbor Travel, and worked for her a little over eight years,” she said. “She was phenomenal in helping me navigate the travel world.”

Because of West's connections with the chamber, Davis said her first three or four years working for West involved working with the chamber. “We helped with the 26th anniversary of Windjammer Days,” she said. “We were in the parade and we worked with the floats.”

When West sold her business in 1993, Davis opened her own travel agency, Wiscasset Travel, on Water Street in Wiscasset, with business partner Joel Verney. “We were there for almost 14 years,” she said.

The business started out in a small office, but when a space next door opened up, they took over and tripled their size. “We had clients from all over place, from Boothbay, to Waldoboro, Portland and Madawaska,” Davis said. “We had connections with people from all sorts of places.”

The partners closed their business five years ago, not wanting to sell it to someone who might change it. “We didn't want anyone to buy us out and take it in a different direction. We were all about keeping it hometown, local.”

Since then Davis has worked at four branches of The First National Bank in Lincoln County; the last three years were here in Boothbay Harbor.

Davis learned about the job opening at the chamber on April 17. “I went to a Business After Hours at Bigelow lab in the middle of April. Catherine (Wygant-Fossett) announced that there was an opening, and said that if anyone knew of someone who might be interested to have them get in touch with her.”

Davis said she had been looking around at jobs. She was planning to interview for a new position at the bank the next week. “I told her later, just before leaving, that I would be interested,” Davis said. “She told me to stop by the chamber, get the job description, and see if this was something I wanted to do. I read it and said, 'this is me.'”

She is looking forward to working with the chamber doing what she does best, in a place she's familiar with. She said her top priority at the chamber will entail visitor relations with people coming into the office with questions about the area, along with answering questions via email and phone.

Davis was having a hard time hiding her enthusiasm on May 7. “This is my first day. I'm so excited. It's bringing back old memories, like taking out the old brochures and putting up the new ones. It's neat to see what else is out there in our own state. There are brochures from all over the state.

“I've been here all my adult life,” she said. “Now I can sell what I know, here in town. I'll help promote the region and help grow the membership. It's a great bunch of women here. It's a perfect fit.”

Davis has two children, Myron Hahn, a senior who is graduating in the top ten of his class at Boothbay Region High School, and will be attending Maine Maritime in the fall, and Della, nine.