From the Past President

by | Dec 23, 2020

Lee Ann O'Brien - President

Lee Ann O’Brien, CECC, CMP, MBA
Chief Marketing Officer, The McGregor Foundation

The Ripple Effect – What is Yours?
Extraordinary Leaders in Extraordinary Times

It has been a year as President of the HRCC chamber that I will always savor and never forget. In February, our future was uncertain, as it was for many other organizations.
I am particularly proud of the progress our organization achieved, despite the pandemic, and still thrived-growing our membership by fifteen percent!

“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” – President Jimmy Carter

By putting people first, we knew that we had to forge a new path, a new direction. We listened to our members and the board. Diverse ideas, life experiences and backgrounds make our organization more valuable and contributed to our success.

Our achievements this fiscal year:

  • Having the confidence and commitment to move forward as our own Chamber.
  • We reinvigorated the Marketing and Membership committees who achieved major benchmarks. Thank you to the co-chairs and the entire committee members for such great work!
  • Elevating our presence with a new and improved website, creative content, newsletters, and posts drew accolades. There is still more to come for our members.
  • The launch of Coffee and Connections provided a new vehicle to meet virtually, make new friends, business acquaintances and gain members. Simply fun on the first Friday.
  • Breathing new life into our Shop Local campaign with emphasis on supporting small businesses brought focus to many of those businesses. We look forward to further enhancements this year.
  • Our philanthropic cause and one of our most recent endeavors are as a supportive partner with the Community Partnership on Aging’s “Step Up to the Plate”, raising funds to feed seniors in our six-city communities. The campaign runs through September and concludes in October on National Chamber of Commerce Day!
  • Inspiring our members and colleagues, we offered many dynamic speakers throughout the year during the Speaker Series which will begin again in August.
  • We added the Member Spotlight to the website landing page, benefitting both new and existing members who can share their story and their business.
  • Speaker Series Sponsorships and the Slider Ads on our landing page added a complement to non-dues revenue opportunities and sustained us throughout the year.

Lastly, the board has contributed to laying the groundwork and a good foundation to move us to the next level. Of course, we cannot complete this effort without the help of our members and our Executive Director. Thank you to you all.

“The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate but in what you give away.” – Author, Wayne Dyer

To quote one of my own sentiments reminds us opportunities are often closer than we think: “Fish Your Own Pond”. We are on a great trajectory and there is nowhere to go but UP!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve. It has been an honor and a privilege.

Sincere regards,

Lee Ann

Previous Letters from the President

August 2020       October 2020       December 2020       January 2021

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