Moore-Hemann

Three years ago, almost down to the day, I was in the extensive process of interviewing for the executive director position with the Union County Chamber of Commerce.

I remember the thrill and honor it was to be selected to join the leadership of the chamber. I had so many project ideas and goals to accomplish upon starting my first day. Every day was a new, wonderfully exhausting adventure — and, truly, it has not really stopped feeling as such. Which made the decision to move on so much more difficult.

Looking back, I feel like so many others — robbed of a true experience thanks to having to navigate “chamber life” through a global pandemic, where so much of the chamber’s mission is to connect people to people. But it also provided the opportunity to pivot and shift our focus to do what we do best: connect people — only this time, to resources and to larger promotional opportunities, rather than face-to-face. At the end of the day, coming into the chamber, my main goal was to make the organization better than how it was when I started. Of course, there was already momentum and a wonderful team in place, so my whole objective was to build on it.

The final report I provided at the most recent board meeting was an overview of the things the organization accomplished over the last three years. I will admit, even I was surprised how much we have achieved. Maybe it is because we tend to get so focused on the day-to-day or project-to-project, and you forget to look back and say, “Hey, excellent job, team! Look how far we’ve come.”

It’s crazy to think, despite COVID-19, the chamber has grown its membership base — from 220 when I started to 275. It’s crazy to think, despite COVID-19 and not having the ability to host our usual banquets and events, the chamber has grown into a position of strong financial stability. It’s also crazy to think, despite temporarily reducing staff hours, we accomplished so much. Our bylaws and policies manuals have been entirely overhauled into beautiful, professional works (not a super enticing project, but one the Governance Committee and myself sure are proud of). We developed a long-term strategic plan with performance metrics so the chamber has a direction and long-range goals to works toward, to keep the organization focused on its mission. And not only that — we grew the Holiday Decorating Competition, we have grown and reengaged with our partners on the Grande Ronde Farm Trail and we launched the “Gift-UC” (say it aloud and the name is way cooler) eGift card to help support our local businesses. We built out our quarterly Shop Hops, a tangible way to connect residents and shoppers by exploring local businesses. And of course the rebranding project (look how impressive and modern our new logos are) and launch of a gorgeous website.

The neat thing is the list continues. Our ambassadors have been highly prominent (and amazing) in their outreach to our community. We have increased our partnerships with other organizations to build on true community-spirit momentum. We launched the Support Local video campaign (the first of many, hopefully) to highlight the benefits of supporting local businesses throughout our community — plus, this is a regional project with our neighboring chambers.

I cannot believe with the end of the calendar year comes the end of my tenure. As the ball drops over downtown La Grande on New Year’s Eve, I will look back with such fondness at my time with the chamber. The opportunity to meet such wonderful people and learn so much about our county. How much personal and professional growth this position has afforded my own career trajectory. The people I have worked alongside on numerous projects and activities. The people I have had the opportunity from which to gain experience. If you can’t already tell, it’s the people in Union County and the Eastern Oregon region who have made this such a special position to have held.

So, no matter what it is — always strive to leave it better than you found it.