Former Director’s Niece Takes Interim Helm at Madison Chamber

Wiktionary offers the following etymology for nepotism:

From Italian nepotismo, from Latin nepōs ("nephew"), a reference to the practice of popes appointing relatives (most often nephews) as cardinals during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

The Madison Chamber of Commerce doesn't do nepotism. No. It does niece-otism:

The Madison Chamber of Commerce has appointed Michelle Ust as interim director.

Ust fills the vacancy left by Executive Director Julie Gross, who has accepted the position as executive director for the Lake Area Improvement Corportation.

Ust begins May 30 and will work for the chamber for up to two months or until a permanent director has been named. Ust, who is originally from Volga, recently moved to the Madison area. She is Gross' niece and will oversee the day to day duties of the Chamber, attend events and will report to the Chamber Board of Directors [staff, "Madison Chamber Seeks New Executive Director," Madison Daily Leader, 2012.05.17].

Well... I... um... she... what... aaacckk! Should I even have to explain to the Madison Chamber why this looks bad?

Michelle Ust is 30 (or turns 30 this year) and leaves few identifiable traces online. My casual Web browsing offers no indication of Ust's experience in this field. Whether she is applying for the permanent position remains to be seen... though her service in the interim position gives her an obvious edge in any interview process.

Perhaps the Chamber should revise its fluffily written Executive Director job description to include one straightforward qualification: "Must be prepared to withstand and occasionally rebut Heidelberger's guff." Or better yet: "Must be able to make decisions that don't make Heidelberger's blogging so darned easy."

Next Chamber exec's first official act: changing Madison's tagline to Discover the Unexpected Hereditary Monarchy.