After four years with the chamber, Ms. Dreesen recently moved on to a job at the Inn of Jefferson so she can be closer to her home, which is north of the small historical town.

"I miss them and I'll miss what they did, but it's a time in my life when I needed to get a little bit closer to home," she said.

Ms. Ware said during her four years there, Ms. Dreesen "greatly increased our attendance at travel shows" and was active in statewide tourism organizations, interfaced with representatives from travel bureaus and helped start the "Marshall: A Texas Treasure" campaign in conjunction with the city of Marshall.