Lisa Wilson is the President of the Independence Chamber of Commerce. Having worked for the Chamber for almost 9 years, Lisa is deeply involved in the community and definitely “Believes” Independence is the best place to live, invest and visit. She is a past president and member of both Rotary and Soroptimist and currently serves as president of the Optimist Club. She also serves on the William Inge Theater Festival Foundation, Independence Historical Museum and Art Center, and FORPAZ board of directors. She is a 2002 Leadership Independence graduate and a 31-year member of Chapter EF, PEO and a lifetime member of First United Methodist Church.
Lisa is a “Believer” in Neewollah and has been involved with the festival for many years. Since 1990, she has volunteered on numerous committees and has served as co-chair for Queen Candidates, Queens Judges, Coronation Ball, Kick-Off Party, Summer Workshops, Queen’s Fashion Show and has co-chaired Neelah Debs twice. Lisa’s involvement with Neewollah started when she moved to Independence at age 5 and participated in her first Kiddie Parade where she was Little Bo Peep. Years later she enjoyed marching in the Grand Parade and competing in the Neewollah Marching Band Competition. She was a 1981 Neelah Deb and a 1983 Queen Candidate. After competing in Queen Neelah she went on to compete in the Miss Kansas Pageant in 1986 and placed third runner-up, playing the alto, tenor and baritone saxophones as her talent. She is a graduate of Independence High School, Independence Community College, where she was recently inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, and Pittsburg State University, where she earned her bachelors in business administration, majoring in marketing.
Lisa is the proud mother of twin daughters, Jessie Wilson, a sixth grade science teacher in Boone, North Carolina and Layne Webster, a first grade teacher at Eisenhower. Last year she hit the son-in-law jackpot when Gavin Webster joined the family. Lisa is a “Believer” in Independence and feels honored to serve as this year’s coronation emcee.