Yuma County Chamber of Commerce names new executive director

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Yuma County Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director.

Ben Smithwick is originally from Connecticut, but is coming from California at the Pacific Research Institute.

He was introduced to local leaders and business owners Wednesday night at the chamber mixer at Avenir Financial.

Smithwick said it is an exciting change to help businesses grow, and is proud to get to call Yuma home.

"There's so much opportunity here in Yuma. There's so many businesses that are relocating to the county so much growth in terms of population over the past 20 years, and so I think there's a great foothold to expand the business space," Smithwick expressed.

Smithwick also has a background in journalism, working with Fox News in Los Angeles as a news editor.