I first stepped into the role as President/ CEO of the Worthington Area Chamber on August 24, 2021. Fresh off months without a leader, the tail end of a pandemic and right into a six-month mask mandate, I began my journey in Worthington.
The first months involved getting oriented and actively listening to people who needed to be heard. I confidently crutched my way into re-igniting an organization desperate to do more in a post pandemic era.
Reflecting on the first two years, I spent the first year learning the ecosystem of our business community and worked to get our house in order. Year #2 saw programming up and running and made steps to what’s just beyond the horizon in year #3, along with moving our office to smaller accommodations.
Because of our 12 Board members, our estimated 300+ volunteers and 530 businesses invested in our Chamber, we are on a path forward in the months to come. Just in the past year, we can hang our hat on some great accomplishments:
- The voice of business has been amplified. After partnering with the City of Worthington on Amplify Worthington Podcast, we reached over 1,000 listeners/ viewers before our tenth episode dropped. If you haven’t already, give it a listen or view. We have 13 episodes and more in the hopper. P.S. Please leave a review.
- Our Chamber serves as a platform for positive change. We’ve hosted five CEO roundtables and multiple membership luncheons to discuss steps our business community can take to ensure we are competitive with surrounding communities. To ensure we come out of the recession stronger and benefit from the impact of Intel, we have positioned ourselves to be instigators of positive change, rather than merely a resource to cope with it. We’re even co-hosting a Candidate Forum on Wednesday, September 13th at 7 p.m. playing a central role in connecting businesses, community and civic leaders. Not new for Chambers of Commerce, just new for Worthington. It’s time we serve as conveners of these key stakeholders to build consensus and trust throughout our community.
- Our vision is to have a greater community impact. We’ve set a course to impact our community in more ways. Our Chamber has a duty and opportunity to own the vision forward for Worthington. Your investment in us has allowed me to sit on two Vision Committees with Worthington City Council, as well as a voice in the conversation on the age friendly initiative. We’re also deeply involved with the Business Advisory Council within the Worthington Schools to ensure we are the conduit between our future workforce and our employers. Even more is in the works to take a lead role…
These are just three areas we’re moving the needle in our second year together. We’re positioned to build consensus and serve as the voice of reason in the year ahead to ensure catalytic leadership. We’re focused on what we want to be, not what we will be…and I’m just excited to have the opportunity to be at the helm. Thank you!
