For the Chamber... It's more than just business
“One of the bigger challenges is that we really have a good reputation within the business community itself and our chamber exists to help support our members in the business community. But the bigger 'Why' of that we exist is to help support the community in general. We want our entire community… to be successful and our part in that is doing it through the business link.”A broader role envisioned
This we learned in our recent conversation with Kristen Sharp, the President and CEO of the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce. Sharp, who recently took over the leading role in the organization, wants the Chamber to be better known in the community. "“We are very well-known throughout the business community, but we are not well known in the community in general.”. Sharp wants the Chamber to be more integrated in the community in general. "We are here to help. We are not trying to push anybody’s agendas. We’re trying to make the community better as a whole.” Kristen wants the Chamber to be more involved in the schools and in the high schools to help "train a new generation of business owners and workers."
It's been quite a journey from farm to chamber leadership for the mother of two youngsters. Born and raised as a farm girl north of St. Louis, Kristen had been teaching agriculture when she earned the opportunity to earn a masters degree in agricultural education at UA. "They offered the education to me for free. Paid me to teach some leadership and teamwork courses while I got my masters. I was planning on going home but as it happened, I met my husband so I decided to stay."
After working in retail for several years, "the opportunity at the Chamber opened and I applied and I got it in the summer of 2019. Then Dave started talking about wanting to retire and he asked me if I was interested and I said 'of course'. We started having more in-depth discussions about topics like board relations, town relations, finances… things like that, and so Dave did pass a lot knowledge before he retired.”
A challenging position
Kristen's previous role at Chamber was as Events and Communications Director. The administrative side of the business is new to her. “Dave always said his job is not hard. There was just a lot of it. and that is very true... Now I am seeing more of the internal things...There’s a lot to the job but it’s been fun. Every day is different." Energy galore
During our conversation, Kristen was animated and energetic. There's no doubt she'll get the job done. "I just can’t seem to manage to not want to do more."
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About the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce
"The Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce was formed in the fall of 1992 to support the growth of and business interests in the community. It became the Northern Pima County Chamber of Commerce in 1998, when Northwest Tucson was entering a period of major growth. Then, in 2011, Directors went back to the organization’s roots, and adopted once more the name Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce."View their 2021 Annual Report.
