2022
Officers
Our officers play a vital role in creating a place where business and community work together to network, socialize, collaborate, cooperate, and build friendships with, and among, each other.
Join Us
Be a part of the Emerald Isle business community.
Members
Emerald Isle businesses that are part of EIBA now.
Calendar
Check the calendar for the most up to date events.
Jamie Vogel
President
Jamie grew up in the area attending Swansboro High School. She began her career working in the hospitality industry in Carteret County doing anything from serving local fare to checking in rental guests. She found a passion for sales and marketing and built a career working for a few of the largest companies in Carteret County.
Jamie currently serves on the Carteret Health board of directors and was also elected for a two-year term as a town commissioner in November 2021. She spends as much time as she can volunteering in the community at important events, St. Patrick’s Day Festival, Christmas Parade, and the Emerald Isle Marathon to name a few.
You can usually find Jamie and her husband Calvin exercising on the bike path or enjoying a local sandbar by boat. Jamie has two sons Mark, 21, and Justin, 15. Justin attends Croatan High School. Mark is enlisted in the United States Navy. In her free time, Jamie enjoys reading, cooking, and trying to convince her husband to keep the Christmas decorations up year-round.
Jon Blomquist
Vice President
Jon grew up in central Illinois and lived in Chicago for 12 years. He began his working career in real estate, starting off as a bird-dog for investors, and then eventually opened his own office. He taught himself how to build the company website and learned how to generate online leads for the agency. Eventually, he fell in love with SEO (search engine optimization) and started building numerous affiliate websites to outrank big box stores for online products. In 2014, he took his strategies and started helping local businesses with their online presence and lead generation by starting his own website and SEO agency, QuistBuilder – websites & internet marketing.
Jon and his wife, Monica, fell in love with Emerald Isle and moved here in 2017. They have one daughter, Charlotte, 1. They spend most of their free time on the beach, hanging out with friends, and trying out local restaurants. Jon is an active member of the EIBA, The Carteret County Chamber of Commerce, NC Aquarium Society Business Member, and Seaside Masonic Lodge.
Whitney Chigas
Secretary
Whitney was born and raised on Emerald Isle and grew up in Lands End. She graduated from Floyd County High School and attended Radford University in Virginia. Whitney began working in the hospitality industry when she was 14 years old, bookkeeping for a local organic-focused restaurant, and then transitioning to working at Chateau Morrisette Winery. In college, Whitney was a corporate trainer for an international steakhouse chain. After moving to Chapel Hill for her career, she was blessed with a daughter, Lilly.
Whitney moved back to Emerald Isle in 2013 and began working for Carteret Health Care where she currently is the Financial Assistance Program Coordinator. She is also the Patient Relations Team Lead as well as the President of the Communication Action Group.
Whitney is the Emerald Isle Run Club facilitator and media coordinator. Whitney loves to volunteer in the community for events such as the Emerald Isle Christmas Parade, St. Patrick’s Day Festival, coordinating events with the Emerald Isle Run Club and participating in Bogue Banks Chapter Surfrider Foundation Beach Sweeps.
You can find Whitney and her daughter Lilly, age 11, enjoying lunches at Fish Hut Grill, boating with friends, lounging on the beach, picnicking along local hiking trails, enjoying live music, and frequenting the local produce stands in the summer.
Whitney’s passions include spending time with her family and friends, reading, cooking, photography, DIY projects, BOHO decor, volunteering, meeting new people, traveling, art, museums, history and enjoying all the outdoor activities she can in her beloved hometown of Emerald Isle.
Nyra Hogeland
Treasurer
Nyra Hogeland is the branch leader for Truist in Cedar Point. She has been with the company for 16 years. She previously served on the Swansboro Area Chamber of Commerce and the Emerald Isle Business Association boards as the Treasurer.
Nyra was born and raised in Florida and moved to North Carolina, for the first time, in 1989 with her Marine husband, Terry. They have been married for 36 years. They moved back to the area in 1998 and decided that NC would be their permanent home when he retired in 2010.
