Whether it’s a call, a stop by the office or an official function of the Hanover Association of Businesses and Chamber of Commerce, Kris Holt has been part of the organization since it was formed. And, tomorrow, she will close the book on that chapter of her life as she looks to enjoy more time with family and, she said, with a grin, on the golf course.

For more than 12 years, she has been the “face” of the HABCC, which came into being with the merger of the Ashland and Hanover Chambers in 2002.

She retained the position of office administrator and Cameron Wood moved into the executive director’s job. He worked with the Chamber for 24 years before retiring in early 2009.

Working with Wood, she said, “was a good fit, because he dealt with the county officials and heads of other organizations and I did the background support work – and it worked out well.”

Holt has maintained operations of the HABCC for three days a week, but, she said, “I’m always thinking about the job; it’s always in the back of my mind. I just feel a sense of responsibility that things run smoothly.”

She had been working for Larry Gilman in his law practice. When he was appointed judge of Hanover County’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Holt said, “He shut down the law practice and I was without a job, so I took a little bit of time off. And about eight weeks into my time off, I got a call from [Rick Laird] the president of the Ashland-Hanover Chamber. Their administrative secretary had given her notice and they weren’t sure whether they were going to need somebody. They were kind of in a stage of deciding the direction of the organization and he asked me if I could fill in for six weeks until they decided what they wanted to do — and that was 12 years ago.”

Since it was a part-time job “and my children were still at home,” Holt said the position gave her “the flexibility that I wanted and then I just stayed with them for the duration.”

Despite her kind, gracious and helpful nature, Holt considers herself an introvert. “People say that I seem so calm and so in control of a situation, like nothing flusters me.” When she first joined the Chamber, she said “It was very hard and very exhausting for me to go to an event and extend my hand and welcome people and initiate conversation with strangers, because I’m basically shy.” Through the years, she has “had to reach into myself and grow, and I’ve become a much more outgoing person. I credit the organization with helping me to grow as a person in that way.”

“Another thing that people have said to me is they are amazed at how I can remember names – even after having seen somebody just once or twice,” Holt said. “I like to be able to greet somebody by name and remember who they are — I think that makes them feel more than welcome.”

As for the timing on her retirement, she said, “I just felt it was time to turn the reins over to someone with fresh ideas, new enthusiasm – just change things up a bit. It’s a big responsibility.”

“I’m sort of the constant when you’ve got a changing board [of directors], and with the change in the executive director, I think people felt that there was a constant there and that was what I did,” Holt added. “I sort of do a lot of the background work. I’m the one that sends out the e-mails and makes sure that everybody knows about the event and then make sure that when people get there they have a name tag ready for them, greet them at the door, help [executive director] Jennifer [Scott] with the announcements during the events, and talk with the members who are hosting the event so they remember everything they need to do. We depend on our members to host Business After Hours and some of the bigger events we’ve got.”

In filling Holt’s position, Scott recently listed the responsibilities to include managing events, finances, membership and special projects.

She also said the candidate “must be organized, able to juggle projects, and customer-service focused.”

With retirement literally a day away, Holt said, “There are a lot of things that I have been meaning to do – a lot of projects and I never had the time, so I want to be able to concentrate on them.”

Family is high on her to-do list. Her elderly mother still resides in Holt’s hometown of Wooster, Ohio. “I would like to be able to know that I could go at a moment’s notice to help with anything she might need.”

Holt’s daughter Sarah, who lives in New York City, is a recent newlywed and her son Tim makes his home in Woodbridge. She said she wants to spend more time with her children and new son-in-law Tim.

Her husband Richard “Rich,” she said with a smile, is “a little jealous” about her retiring. “He thinks it should be the other way around.”

The Holts have been together more than 30 years. “I met my husband at my cousin’s wedding in Winston-Salem (N.C.). I was living in Ohio at the time and he had just been transferred to Richmond and was living in Ashland. We dated long distance for about a year and decided to get married.”

Thinking back to their courtship, she said they agreed the long distance issue was an obstacle. “This is ridiculous – let’s get married,” she recalled them saying. “And I’ve lived in Hanover County ever since. We both love it here – this is home.”

Holt, who said she loves to travel, has family members in cities including Chicago and San Francisco. Her retirement will find her crisscrossing the country.

She also said she is “anxious to get back into the regular golfing season with the ladies at the Hanover Country Club.”

“I also do a lot of craft projects, sewing projects and scrapbooking and those are things that I’ve kind of had to put to the side,” Holt said. “And I’ve got several projects I need to finish and work on – at my leisure.”