I want to thank the members of the Ottawa Chamber for having the confidence in selecting me to be your new Executive Director. I have been on the job for about three weeks now and I have been overwhelmed with the friendliness and cooperative nature of our community. The chamber hosted two "Meet and Greet" events where members could stop and talk on an informal basis. I wanted to thank those who took time to stop and I learned a lot from the meetings!
We started a new approach this year with the changes in the Ottawa Chamber staff. Kristal Nodland is our office manager and taking on more of the responsibilities to keep the operation of the Chamber running smoothly. She is a wealth of knowledge and very helpful if you ever have a question about businesses in town.
I attended a number of events in December prior to my official start and started to work my way through current invitation for meetings. In all of my interaction, I have asked for new ideas from members, government officials and members of the community. Ottawa is not shy about speaking up! I have consolidated the concepts that I have heard into 6 action areas for our Chamber:
- Promote the city and its assets
- Be the effective business advocate for the members
- Sustainable financial health
- Workforce development and training
- Develop leaders of the Chamber and the community
- Innovation
If we have not had a chance to meet, I am still asking for ideas. Please use my email
[email protected] to let me know what we can do to help solve business issues.
I look forward to working with you so you can use the Chamber resources to help your business grow.
Jeff Hettrick, Executive Director
