Samantha LaJeunesse, executive director, GINCC

I’ve officially been the Executive Director of the Greater Ishpeming-Negaunee Chamber of Commerce for almost three full weeks on my own. Having been the former Marketing and Events Coordinator, I had a good sense of what type of role I was stepping into. Boy, was I wrong. Watching Bob and becoming Bob are two very different things, but thus far I have dove deep and I’ll come up for oxygen as I can.

My first task was to really learn what a Chamber of Commerce is all about. Through research of other local Chambers and reading through the GINCC Mission Statement I have refocused and revised my game plan. After all, we as the Chamber are here for our members first and foremost. The end game is to create and support a thriving economy for our area through the service and support we offer. The first step was for me to go through each and every member’s files. In these files I’ve read about the type of businesses that belong to our membership and the services and products they have to offer our community.

The second step of understanding the Chamber ecosystem is to understand and learn from the members I serve. Over the next few weeks I plan to introduce myself and survey as many of our friends as I can. I want to know where our businesses need help and how I can teach them to get the most out of their memberships.

Once I have a better understanding of what our members need, I aim to tailor the services we offer to better assist our existing members and our potential new members. Already, I have learned that some businesses don’t posses the knowledge of how to build and update their very own websites. Que the new service I am offering. I am more than happy to sit down with any one of our members and help design a website and teach them how to manage and update them on their own. The Chamber’s mission isn’t only to serve, it’s to empower as well. Education is in my opinion one of the best ways to empower.

Education is another phase that I hope to expand as a resource for the business community. I’ve already began to round up some of our members to speak on their expertise and educate their fellow members. I have an extensive background on how to operate a restaurant, but have no clue about mortgages and commercial loans. So as an example, people like myself could really benefit from a presentation from a mortgage broker where they are able to ask questions tailored to benefiting their business plans.

A Chamber of Commerce is extremely important to the development of a healthy local economic ecosystem. If you really think about it, joining the Chamber of Commerce is like joining a club full of potential resources, clients, and networking. I would really like everyone to know how important it is to me to help as many businesses and people as possible.

I’m urging anyone who has more questions or are interested in joining our fun club (The Chamber) to reach out to me. My direct email is ginccdirector@gmail.com and this is the best way to get a hold of me. As mentioned before, my goal is to meet and discuss need with as many people as I can, so I will not always be in the office.

To learn more about the GINCC, visit www.gincc.org or give us a call 906-486-1111. Our hours are 9am-3pm, Monday through Friday. The office is located at 910 U.S. Hwy 41 West. Please feel free to call or email ahead of time and I am happy to set up an appointment!

EDITORS NOTE: Sam LaJeunesse is a current resident of Ishpeming. She was nick-named Smiley-Sam at a young age and tries her best to live up to that name. She enjoys golf, crafting, and spending time with friends and family.