The next generation
The Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce is giving its brand new junior board a “blank canvas,” Board President Vince Schilleci said, and it’s expecting to see big changes in the next year.
“I think we’re going to see a significant change in the way we do things in the Chamber of Commerce because of this group of folks,” chamber Executive Director Suzan Doidge said.
The 23 members of the junior board were selected this spring and had their kickoff meeting April 30. Schilleci said the junior board will help with planning chamber events, train a new generation of leaders and provide a younger perspective. They will also have the opportunity to create a new signature event from scratch.
“What we’re telling the junior board members is, ‘This is yours to make of it. You have a blank canvas here,’” Schilleci said. “… I’m looking so forward to seeing what these young professionals put together.”
The junior board idea came out of the chamber’s Strategic Planning Committee in 2018, as a way to improve member benefits and ensure the chamber has leaders in the coming years.
“We all felt strongly that this is one of our main goals for this year,” Schilleci said.
They received 68 nominations, all of them community-minded people, Doidge said.
“I wish we could have taken everybody,” Schilleci said.
The junior board members are all professionals ages 25-35 who either live, work or were originally from Mountain Brook. Schilleci said the chamber sees itself as a “hub” connecting the different parts of Mountain Brook, and it wants the junior board to fit that same role.
Most of the junior board members have similar roles with other organizations, Doidge said, which will give them some experience to draw from as they help create this new board.
“This is a very experienced group of leaders. … They could run circles around me,” Schilleci said.
The junior board members are:
► Drew Dickson, Alabama Power Company
► Cary Beck, Maynard Cooper & Gale
► Wil Bromberg, Regions
► Liles Carter, CRC Insurance
► Lindsey Crocker, Brookwood Baptist Health
► Wirth Doss, Cushman & Wakefield
► Drew Fravert, Fravert
► Robert Fritze, Fritze Financial
► John Harbert, Harbert Management Corporation
► Wayne Ingram, EY
► Lee Mallette, Fairway Management Group
► Kim McGuire, Chester’s International
► Ali Money, IBERIABANK
► Kit Pearce, Children’s of Alabama
► Mary Elizabeth Roberson, Peritus Public Relations
► Callan Sherrod, J.H. Berry & Gilbert
► Ann Holman Smith, Lewis Communications
► Michael Stone, Porter White & Company
► Kirby Whitehead, A’mano
► Ryan Sims, Brasfield & Gorrie
► Addie Screven, AmWINS
► Harper DeWine, KPMG
► Chris Branch, WAKM
“They’re new to their professions in some cases, but they were already involved in things,” Doidge said of the members, who will serve three-year terms.
DeWine said she had been looking for junior board opportunities since graduating from college more than a year ago, and the Mountain Brook Chamber junior board will allow her to give back where she grew up. She’s looking forward to meeting new people and helping with event planning.
DeWine said she thinks the junior board will provide a new way to “reach out to those people who might not necessarily feel comfortable or know who to go to about certain issues.”
Bromberg said he’s looking forward to networking with other young professionals who have similar priorities, and he is considering serving on the regular chamber board in the future.
After the April 30 kickoff, Schilleci said junior board members will meet monthly, with more frequent committee meetings to help their new signature event take shape.
Doidge said the chamber has heard from its members that they want more community events, and she looks forward to seeing what the junior board creates. Due to the time and manpower needed to pull off a major event, Schilleci said the new project likely will not be on the calendar until 2020.
The chamber has been considering a junior board for a while, Doidge said, and this year the timing is right.
“We have the right folks in place,” she said.
She said the chamber will likely provide some leadership training to its junior board and she would like to have some of the past board presidents share their stories with the members.
The strategic planning sessions that initiated the junior board also showed a desire to keep the chamber technologically up-to-date, Schilleci said. It’s another area where the input of younger professionals will be valuable.
Schilleci said the chamber is considering the creation of a chamber app that can help locate member businesses, provide coupons and offer other services.
The chamber also wants to move other chamber services online, such as the Village Gold program. Village Gold is similar to a gift card accepted at a number of participating member businesses, but Doidge said the chamber currently writes out all the information by hand.
“We really need to get into the 21st century,” she said.
Moving Village Gold online so it’s accessible by phone, Schilleci said, would likely increase sales and make it easier to keep track of purchases. The chamber would like to implement that within the next 6-8 months.
“The point of the Village Gold program is to keep dollars in Mountain Brook,” Schilleci said.
Schilleci said there are “lots of big plans” for the chamber, and its 23 newest board members will be playing a key part.
“They have that vested interest in seeing the community grow, in seeing our businesses grow,” Schilleci said.