The Auburn Chamber of Commerce’s loss appears to be AuburnBank’s gain.

Chamber President Lolly Steiner announced she is stepping down from her post to take over public relations and marketing for the bank, which is in the midst of transforming its site in the heart of downtown Auburn.

After 21 years as president of the Auburn Chamber of Commerce, Lolly Steiner is ready for a new challenge. (contributed)

The job change is rooted in Steiner’s desire for a new challenge, but she told the Opelika-Auburn News that she will miss working with her chamber staff, officers and volunteers.

“I was thinking about doing this in early 2020 and you probably know the rest of that story,” said Steiner, referring to the upheaval to life caused by the coronavirus. “It has been in the back of my mind. I woke up one morning and it was just like, ‘OK, it’s time. Let’s do this!’… It’s bittersweet, but it’s exciting at the same time.”

Steiner, 60, a native of Russell County, came to Auburn in the early 1980s. She started volunteering for the chamber in 1996. She was recommended for a staff job in 1997 by Ron Anders, who is now the city’s mayor. The two worked closely when Anders chaired the chamber board overseeing volunteers.

In late 1999, the president’s job was up for grabs and Steiner grabbed it. Anders served on the board that hired her to run the chamber.

“She was ready to make that step and, boy, has history proven that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever been a part of,” said Anders. “Auburn is a successful city because of the hard work of many people, but she is definitely on that list.”

Her tenure over the past two decades has coincided with Auburn’s economic and population booms – the chamber has added more than 300 members to top 1,000 under her leadership. The city has also taken on more than 5,000 new manufacturing jobs in the same period.

“Take the positive growth that the city has experienced and marry that with a land grant university sitting right dab in the middle of the community,” Steiner said. “We’ve always had a really good town-gown relationship with Auburn University and that’s been so productive on so many fronts. The chamber’s successful when the city is successful.”

That growth has changed the character of Auburn somewhat, Steiner admitted, but overall for the better.

From left, Auburn Mayor Ron Anders, AuburnBank CEO and President Bob Dumas, Auburn City Manager Jim Buston and Auburn Chamber of Commerce President Lolly Steiner break ground on the new AuburnBank facility last fall. Steiner will take over public relations and marketing at the bank in March. (Sara Palczewski)

“There may be some townspeople who wish that we could go back to that sleepy little village, but I don’t know if that sleepy little village could exist today without the resources that we have … those highly technical jobs, good-paying jobs that didn’t exist back when we were that sleepy little village,” Steiner said.

AuburnBank is helping to spur a new wave of development downtown. It’s building a four-story headquarters at Gay Street and Magnolia Avenue that will feature street-level retail and badly needed professional office space to lease. It will sit a block north of a proposed Publix supermarket, another long-sought piece for downtown Auburn.

“This building is going to set a benchmark for downtown redevelopment,” Steiner said. “It’s going to be beautiful, set right there on a very precious corner in downtown Auburn. … All the growth and business that will come from that new footprint will be fun to be a part of.”

Steiner formally joins the bank March 1.

This story originally appeared in the Opelika-Auburn News.