Ask the Pros

Crystal Brown, President & CEO, Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce 
“I’ve been working with the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce for more than 10 years. I was fortunate to already have a relationship with most of our board members and they have been incredibly supportive. As for surprises, there really haven’t been any which I attribute to those existing relationships.”

Richard Burge, Chief Executive, London Chamber of Business & Industry   
“Meeting each of them individually and regularly. I ask them questions rather than give them speeches.”

Joshua Gunn, President & CEO, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce 
“It was important to me to establish trust and transparency with each member of my board. While our group interactions in Board/Committee meetings are great, I’m a believer in 1-1 contact, and so I scheduled coffee or lunch meetings with each board member. While I have built varying levels of relationships, some stronger than others, overall I feel well connected to each member on my board and we are starting to trust one another. ”

Pammie Jimmar, IOM, President, Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce
“I met with many of the board members so I could listen to their individual wishes for the direction of the chamber and understand their expectations for me as their new CEO. What surprised me the most was how open and willing they were to change and grow in a new direction. ”

Ernest Strickland, President & CEO, Black Business Association of Memphis
“We have a small board, with the Chairman being my predecessor. With that, I established a quarterly meeting schedule with dates confirmed for the year. In addition, we leveraged the backgrounds and skills of our board members by strategically placing them on key committees that align with their unique strengths. Did anything surprise me? Their confidence in me and their willingness to follow my lead was a refreshing surprise.”

Ryan Unger, President & CEO, Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC
“I was asked during the search process what my philosophy was for Board engagement. I said quite simply, you are what you track. And understanding that Board engagement should be at least 20% of your time as a CEO is important and you should set the time aside to maximize that leadership asset.”

Crystal Brown, President & CEO, Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce 
“I have to attribute our board’s willingness to continue to evolve and be open to fresh ideas to my predecessor, John Seymour. He was our president and CEO for 30 years and continued to ensure our chamber remained relevant and a vital resource in our community. Over the years, our board members have been and remain ready to embrace change that benefits our business community and promotes economic development. ”

Richard Burge, Chief Executive, London Chamber of Business & Industry   
“Transparency on what goes on, and early sight of my ideas so they know they have the genuine opportunity of advising and influencing our direction.”

Joshua Gunn, President & CEO, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce 
“Establishing trust early on was key for me, and I think it has enabled us to approach new ideas with an open mind and a willingness to “go there” when necessary. I am constantly reminding my board that in order to become the best possible chamber for this community, we will need to evolve past some of the things that we’re used to, and potentially get a little uncomfortable in the process. For instance, we set a goal to increase diversity in our board and our membership, this required a higher level of intentionality than I think some people were comfortable with at first, but their willingness to be uncomfortable has helped tremendously and we have made a lot of progress in a relatively short amount of time. I am fortunate that my board is completely bought-in to some innovative approaches and we will be stronger for it.”

Pammie Jimmar, IOM, President, Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce
“I used the strategy of presenting my 18-month plan to the board during my first board meeting to include a new website and new branding. A motion was made and the board approved funding of the new website and branding initiative. I was so excited and fortunate. The BIG reveal will happen in July or August.”

Ernest Strickland, President & CEO, Black Business Association of Memphis
“The biggest sticking point was how to honor the outgoing past president. The board was sensitive to his legacy. I went the extra mile in getting our city council to provide him with an honorary street naming, which was unveiled during his retirement celebration (hosted by me). We wanted to desperately display excellence in succession planning and passing of the torch.”

Ryan Unger, President & CEO, Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC
“I told our boards (we have two, one for our chamber and one for our EDC) that my goal was to meet with them each over my first 100 days. Thanks to some great work by our team, I was able to do that. We also tweaked our board meetings for my first year and asked directors to kick off each meeting talking about 'why they serve.' It helped me and helped their peers better understand why each of them were sitting at the table and working together. With 77 directors between both organizations, the biggest hurdle is time and being intentional with how you use it.”

Crystal Brown, President & CEO, Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce 
“I am so blessed! My experience is probably a little different than many. I actually was a board member from 1999 – 2005 and chaired the board from 2003 – 2004. My love for our chamber and the work we do made it easy to decide to come be a part of our team in 2012. Prior to my current position, I was the Vice President of Development and so I was quite knowledgeable of our chamber’s activities and strategic goals. Leading our team has now become my top priority and making sure they have the tools they need to be successful while earning their trust. Of course, making sure our board members and other Chamber members understand why their investment in the chamber is beneficial is a priority. Being a good partner with our legislative leaders, other economic development organizations to include our school system and hospital system is also top of the list of priorities.”

Richard Burge, Chief Executive, London Chamber of Business & Industry   
“With huge difficulty. I rely on my PA to force me to get the balance right for my own and my colleagues' wellbeing and sanity!”

Joshua Gunn, President & CEO, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce 
“I really wanted to immerse myself in the community quickly; not only am I new to the chamber, but I’m completely new to Peoria, and to the Midwest in general. I recognized immediately that there were some cultural nuances here that are different from my previous home, and so I took time to reach out to key stakeholders, visit collaborating organizations, and also reach beyond the 'usual suspects' and attempt to build relationships/hear the voices of folks who don’t traditionally get a 'seat at the table.' Community impact is my priority, I believe that a chamber should be much more than just a 'business advocacy membership organization,' we should be the drivers of the economy, helping to build a more sustainable, equitable, and vibrant community overall; this requires being in authentic relationship with the community we serve. I’m still learning, but I feel like this approach to my first 100 days, has enabled me to develop a strong understanding of the complex culture of this region, the strengths and its opportunities. I am also fortunate that my staff consists of people who have been in this area for their entire lives, so they’ve been extremely helpful for me in getting acclimated; which in turn, has helped us to organically build strong internal staff relationships as well. ”

Pammie Jimmar, IOM, President, Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce
“Being the new Chamber President and new to community presented many challenges. The biggest challenge was juggling all the invites to speak at multiple community events while attempting to learn the community including all its stakeholders. Fortunately, my experience in the ACCE's Diversity Leadership program and the book, Horseshoes vs. Chess – A Practical Guide for Chamber of Commerce Leaders, was instrumental in helping me navigate the hectic beginning and lead into a successful journey as a Chamber executive.”

Ernest Strickland, President & CEO, Black Business Association of Memphis
“Building a strategic vision before starting the job helped me to hit the ground running. My goal was to elevate the profile of the organization and change the perception about our work. Luckily, I had a lengthy chamber background, I was able to leverage. In addition, drafting a collaborative press release with my former employer helped control the narrative and broaden the reach of my announcement to stakeholders.”

Ryan Unger, President & CEO, Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC
“One thing I have focused on early is instilling data-driven decision making as a core value of our organization, so we are incorporating that in all that we do. I think at first you need to make the connection between how as business leaders your directors use data to drive their work, and they should expect the same from their Chamber. Once embraced we rolled out our own organizational KPIs and are seeking a clearer focus on our regional economic picture. When armed with this, we then can work with our board and members to best understand what is most important to them, so we can execute on our mission more effectively. We have recently kicked off our strategic planning by solidifying our mission and vivid vision, while recalibrating our core values. All of this includes engagement from our directors, both by survey and in-person facilitation.”

Crystal Brown, President & CEO, Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce 
“We continue to work on this. We have board members whose experiences include small business ownership, business and residential development, financial planning, real estate investment, and much more. We include board members on committees, meetings with developers, decisions related to our financial management and more. ”

Richard Burge, Chief Executive, London Chamber of Business & Industry   
“Making them feel welcome on the premises and encouraging them to engage directly with senior staff.”

Pammie Jimmar, IOM, President, Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce
“I have been able to rely heavily on our Vice Chairs and their specific areas of expertise. We currently have five Vice-Chairs, and each has a specific role that corresponds with specific events where they take a leadership role. Our staff supports them through the process of preparing for and during the event. This has taken a tremendous amount of work off our small staff and has enhanced our board engagement.”

Ernest Strickland, President & CEO, Black Business Association of Memphis
“One example, we have a licensed CPA on our board. I was able to convince her to lead the finance committee as well as showcase her license in a grant proposal as a way of speaking to our priority around fiscal management. She’s a real rockstar!”

Ryan Unger, President & CEO, Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC
“Like I said, you are what you track. We are upgrading and streamlining our CRM so we can better understand the connections and relationships our directors have with ourselves and the community. I also plan regular communications and updates between meetings. And we report back to them on their engagement and participation.”

Crystal Brown, President & CEO, Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce 
“I would have liked to have had the opportunity to meet with each board member individually at their place of business in the first few months. I think that it’s important to understand what their priorities are and why they choose to invest time as a board member. We have so many programs and our pace is very fast right now so I don’t want to be missing out on an opportunity to engage with a board member and utilize their wealth of knowledge as we continue to make Decatur-Morgan County the best place to live, work and enjoy an outstanding quality of life!”

Richard Burge, Chief Executive, London Chamber of Business & Industry   
“As we were all sent home, I should have increased the number of individual zoom calls with them.”

Joshua Gunn, President & CEO, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce 
“I think we could’ve done a better job formalizing our board orientation, and helping to educate our board on all that the chamber does, and emphasize areas where we could use their help. My board is very engaged and willing to help whenever asked; we as a team, just need to do a better job of letting them know where they could be most helpful in advocating for the chamber. This is something we’ve since formalized and are constantly working to improve, but it’s a valuable lesson that I’m glad I learned quickly.”

Pammie Jimmar, IOM, President, Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce
“I wish I had given the board a survey asking them to provide information on the direction they wanted for the chamber and the expectations for me as the new president. With this information in hand prior to my individual meetings, I could have made more progress and made my meetings more productive. Also, regarding attending all the community events and speaking engagements, I would have paced myself in the early months.”

Ernest Strickland, President & CEO, Black Business Association of Memphis
“I wish we could have launched with in-person meetings. Instead, we opted for Zoom calls due to the realities of post-covid.”

Ryan Unger, President & CEO, Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC
“I would have planned for strategic planning and mission/vision work at the same time I was meeting with directors so that as I wrapped up those meetings, we could carry that momentum into more robust planning.”