Page 6 - 2014 DCOC Annual Report

DeKalb Chamber Staff President’s Letter
Katerina
Kim Kim Childs
Katerina Taylor Vice President Dear Chamber Partners and
Investors:
Operations
President & CEO
We had quite the year in DeKalb and in your
Chamber. As we experienced a great deal of
transition and change, we finished strong with new
staff and a renewed focus. Of the varying ways we
Rachea Brooks
served the greater DeKalb community, we stayed
Administration/
firm in our message and motto – to be the collective
Marketing
voice of the business community. The year swiftly
Generalist
came with great aspirations, strong collaborative
Rachea partnerships, a solid pipeline of investors and a
thoughtful strategic plan. Adhering to our Chairman’s
2014 theme to “Transform our Community through
Amanda Strong Leadership”, we got off to a great start!!.
In 2014 your Chamber decided to move its annual
meeting outside of DeKalb to the Georgia Aquarium
Amanda Janaskie
to bring DeKalb to the region, share the great work
being done in our community, and positively expose
Membership Development Manager
our DeKalb leaders.
Creating stronger alliances with our partners, the
Albert Irvin III Chamber sought new ways to offer more impactful
programming and stay socially connected to
Al Account Executive businesses globally and around the clock. Through
a new partner “Save Local Now” the Chamber
provided at no additional cost to businesses, the
opportunity to post events and special deals on our
18 website. In addition, each business member now
has access to our mobile app that allows consumers
and prospective patrons to gain access to our
membership anytime, anywhere and with our more
than 7,000 social media followers.
Further cultivating our partnerships, the Chamber
continued to remain connected to DeKalb County’s
Strategic Plan, working with Interim CEO, Lee May
and the Development Authority Board and staff
under its new Inter-governmental Agreement (IGA).
The Chamber hosted its first “Seeing is Believing”
tour under the direction of its Education Committee.
This tour gave community stakeholders the
opportunity to experience education by touring
some of the DeKalb County School System’s more
challenged schools as well as some high-performing
schools. With the support of partners like Michael
Thurmond our school system continues to see
progress.
As we continued to seek strong leaders in DeKalb,
your Chamber started its first women’s resource
offering another way to engage strong leaders and
group Women Executive Leaders of DeKalb (WELD)
identify ways that women can work together to seek
business opportunities, and expand their business
capacity.
With many accomplishments achieved under
his leadership, the Chamber and our members
said farewell to Leonardo McClarty who served
as President for more than 10 years. With
transformation and transition occupying the
spotlight, the Chamber’s board of directors hired its
first woman president in its 76-year history. With a
new team in place, having this opportunity to lead
an organization with such a long-standing history
doesn’t escape me and we are proud to take the
Chamber into its future.
Finally, I am very proud of what the DeKalb Chamber
has meant to this community, and I am excited along
with our board and staff to find and create new ways
to make history and progress in DeKalb. This Is My
DeKalb!
Progressing DeKalb forward,
Katerina Taylor
President and CEO 3