Thursday,
December 25, 2008
Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery
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Thursday,
December 25, 2008 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
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Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce reports successful 2008 Amy S.
Heaton On behalf of the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our members for a successful year in 2008. It has certainly been an exciting year of changes and growth for us that would not have been possible without you. The chamber began 2008 with steps toward reorganization that included amending its bylaws to include 14, rather than 12, directors on its board to better serve its membership. The board is comprised of Annie Moffitt, T.J. Vanzant, John Jones, Ray Von Autry, Dr. Russell Mauk, Bill Janssen, Lisa Cole, Pam Burleson, Donna Olita, Wesley Stanton. New officers were elected to include Betty Byrd as secretary/treasurer, Don McDuffy as vice-president, and Lynn Pullen as president. I want to take this opportunity to thank this board of directors for their devotion to Holly Springs, its citizens, and our members. Many of the projects we undertake require countless hours of volunteer efforts, which these 14 people selflessly provide. I especially want to thank Lynn Pullen, who goes far beyond the call of duty, working with me on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis to support all chamber endeavors. I also want to thank Dr. Russell Mauk, who resigned his position in December when he partnered with Henry Chiropractic in Olive Branch. Dr. Mauk was a tremendous asset to our organization and will be sorely missed. I began as interim executive director February 1, 2008, and quickly grew passionate about the mission of the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce. With my permanent appointment as director in April came even more reorganization measures, to include the formation of an alliance with the Holly Springs Bureau of Tourism and Recreation and the chamber’s relocation to the Yellow Fever House. This move allowed for ease of collaboration between these two organizations and has proved more cost efficient. Tourism director, Stephanie Movre, and I have formed not just a working relationship but also a friendship through our labors to support and promote chamber members and Holly Springs tourist attractions. Stephanie and I have collaborated to raise citizens’ and visitors’ awareness of all that Holly Springs has to offer through endeavors such as distributing promotional materials at events in other areas (such as the Hill Country Picnic) and creating a promotional video that aired 54 times on 15 cable networks such as Oxygen and MSNBC to promote the Cost of Freedom Exhibit. The changes that occurred in the earlier part of the year led to much growth throughout the remainder of the year. The Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce was proud to welcome 43 brand new members to its fold in 2008. Throughout the year, the chamber held 12 ribbon cutting ceremonies, for an average of one new business opening its doors in Holly Springs per month. In addition to the traditional lineup of its events such as Leadership Marshall, the Marshall-Benton Job Fair, the Walking Horse Classic, Kudzu Festival, and Christmas Parade, the Chamber brought four new events to the community this year, including Painting the Square Blue in April for National Child Abuse Prevention Awareness month, the Business Bonanza to promote our members during the Pilgrimage, a Poker Run in September to raise funds for the Cost of Freedom exhibit, and the Exhibit’s arrival during Thanksgiving. Serving as your chamber director has been personally rewarding, as well. It has been my pleasure to assist chamber members with 15 of their events, such as the Trinity Missions Health Fair, American Pacific’s Killer Kudzu 5K Run, the Marshall County Relay for Life, the Rotary Club golf tournament, and the Case Knife Show, to name a few. Through each of these events, I have had the opportunity to form personal relationships with community members who I now call friends. I have attended Main Street Association meetings during the startup of this organization in Holly Springs and am excited about working closely with Cynthia Brewer, the new Main Street director, to lend chamber support in achieving goals for Holly Springs that are beneficial to our members. I have also been honored to attend Byhalia Area Chamber membership meetings and collaborate with my colleague Sarah Sawyer on a number of activities such as Leadership Marshall and the Marshall-Benton Job Fair. Her experience and guidance have been invaluable to me as our chamber strives to serve you. Wednesday afternoon meetings with the Holly Springs Rotary Club are often the highlight of my week, as we address concerns and items of interest to Holly Springs. My attendance at the MEDC conference and other economically oriented meetings throughout the year have been both educational and beneficial in evaluating and structuring chamber activities to provide maximum benefit for our members. My favorite responsibility as chamber director is the opportunity to tell others about our exceptional members. To achieve this goal, I appeared on 13 radio and television programs, made three club presentations, and sent eight major press releases to media throughout the Mid-South relating to happenings in Holly Springs. I also want to thank Holly Springs’ own local media for the superior job they do in keeping the public informed of news about chamber activities and activities of chamber members. The South Reporter and Mississippi Chronicle published 16 of my own articles throughout the year and provided extensive coverage for chamber activities. Rust College television and WKRA radio’s Good News Happy Hour both welcomed me as a guest on their shows twice this year. I also want to thank Steven Hopper for helping me to establish and design a new website at hschamber.org to keep you better informed in the coming year. The community guide/membership directory has been delayed from its anticipated publication date but is planned for January publication to complement our promotional efforts. The Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce feels that much progress was made in 2008, but we are currently evaluating how we can improve upon our member services in the approaching new year. Our members are the sole purpose for our existence, but we also know that we could not exist without you. We hope that our members feel they received a valuable return on their membership investment in 2008, and we invite any businesses and organizations that were not a part of our organization in 2008 to join us in 2009 as further our efforts toward our mission to “promote, improve, and support the Holly Springs community as an outstanding place to live, work, and do business.” |
      
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