Dayton chamber director retires, but full of dreams

DAYTON - Roxie Paine took a break from the immense task of moving her entire household to Pueblo, Colo.

The 59-year-old said she's retiring, but not really. Paine is full of dreams.

She relaxed in a brown leather chair in her Dayton home, sparse but still a reflection of her character and work.

Behind her head is a bouquet of fire-orange roses, a gift for her four years as the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce executive director. The two large gift baskets in the kitchen are also going-away presents.

Her living room has a Western motif, everywhere are warm browns. A set of Texas longhorn steer horns hung over the fireplace. They are a family heirloom.

Family seems important to Paine. She's building a house in Pueblo with her daughter, pastel-artist Kelly Hannah.

The conversation drifts to where she might work in Colorado. It sounds like she'll be busier in Pueblo than she was running the chamber of commerce for a booming community.

Paine and her daughter hope to open an art gallery and sell their work. She would also like to work with the Pueblo chamber.

Under Paine's guidance, Dayton chamber membership went from 65 to 250.

"The thing I'm most proud of is getting the community behind saving the C&C Railroad depot. Within half a year, it'll be open, and the chamber will move into it, which is on Highway 50. They'll turn it into a railroad museum and a tourist information center. We need that. We need the exposure bad here."

She still said "we" even though her home has been on the market for a month, and Saturday was the open house.

Paine lived on a boat for three years with her late husband, Larry. Paine was an associate with Amazon.com in the late 1990s, right when the book-selling company took off.

She studied performance music in college and worked in that field for 13 years. Paine then worked with her husband in commercial development mergers and acquisitions.

"I liked working in the left-brain world, but I like using my right brain for pleasure."

She wants to focus on making porcelain Santa dolls and has had her own online business, Santamania.com, for about six years.

She rummaged through a linen closet and took out a Mrs. Santa she is most proud of. Mrs. Santa resembles her maker a little bit: gold-rimmed glasses, a halo of curly white-blond hair and rosy cheeks.

Paine also wants to breed golden retrievers. Mac Names Golden Gunn, aka Mac, pressed his nose up against the back sliding-glass door.

After 10 years in Dayton and Carson City, she said her best time was bringing the chamber back to life, especially for small-business owners.

Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.