Events That Sell Themselves (Almost): Marketing Magic in action

Join Gayle Hellemn as she dives into all things event marketing with Sara Perry, Marketing and Communications at the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce.

From building buzz around local events to uncovering what truly drives attendance, engagement, and success — this episode is packed with valuable insights you won’t want to miss.

Episode Transcript

Unknown (00:00):
Kinsey, welcome to within the details, a podcast
where we take a sneak peekbehind the curtains, where we
dive into what it takes to trulycreate a remarkable event. So
whether you are an eventprofessional, a community
leader, or just simply curiouswhat goes on behind the scenes,
this is your all access pass tothe details that make the magic

(00:24):
happen.
Good morning. We have SarahPerry with us this afternoon,
and she is from the Lebanon,Wilson County Chamber, and we
are very excited to have hercome and share a little bit
about her story, her history,and how that relates to events.

(00:45):
So welcome, Sarah, hi everyone.
Hey. Um, so like I said, you'repart of the Lebanon Wilson
County Chamber, which is ayou've been there how long now?
Um, since 2023 that's 2023 Wow.
I was thinking it was just ayear. Apparently, I was very
wrong. So you you mentioned inyour bio that you have got about

(01:07):
a decade in event history doingevents or communication, and
that was a true love and passionof yours that I think you
mentioned started back inschool, when you were always the
kid that was always getting introuble for talking. Yes, always
we're kindred spirits, though Iwould too that, and every once
in a while arguing with theteacher, but yeah, you've got

(01:33):
the passion for communication.
Where do you think that comesfrom?
Honestly, I don't know. Myparents are not as outgoing
as I met your father. He isdefinitely not as talkative as
youknow. They are not as talkative
as me, but I just have alwaysbeen chatty, Cathy and I've you
know, it was bad in school, butI just learned to use that as a

(01:57):
string. And I went to college. Idropped out because I didn't
know what I wanted to do. And Iwent back to college because I
realized I had been marketingfor different businesses without
the actual title of marketing,and learned to pivot that and
incorporate it in everything.

(02:24):
And so now I went back tocollege and graduated
and used that,and that was part of your
journey here at the expo, also,wasn't it? Yes. So you came here
as an intern for, I think it wasthe last semester of your
degree. Was that right? Yeah,yeah.

(02:44):
And we worked on right in themiddle of the rebrand with Farm
Bureau and getting the titlesponsor,
like throwing a can of worms atyou and saying, Here, what do
you want to do with this? But itwas so fun. I honestly gained so
much from that time. In additionto the full rebranding, we did

(03:06):
the brand awareness campaign,and learned so much about our
community, and learned so muchjust about the facility that
we're at, rightbecause you did, you did a lot
of history research on it, Icould tell that. And if you look
at the website today, you willsee that the majority of that

(03:27):
text that you had originally puton the website, because I did
make a change in terms of who'smonitoring and who who created
it, and that was nothing to dowith your work. That was
everything to do with logisticsof working with Wix, but, but we
kept that research that you didin there. And what I think is

(03:50):
interesting, and it's a hugecredit to you, is that people
use that now when they'retalking about the expo, like I
hired a contractor recently,and, you know, and within the
scope of what we talked about,they needed to do some research.
So they went to the website, andit was so funny, because I'm
reading their proposal, and Isaid, by chance, did you pull

(04:12):
those? And they were like, Yeah.
And I'm like, that's okay,that's okay. It's good
information. So that's a hugecredit when you see your work.
Thank you. And it's funny yousay that because I use it
currently now too. As theChamber of Commerce, we try to

(04:33):
highlight all the governingbodies, and with the Expo Center
falling under Wilson Countygovernment, I have a little bit
of detail out there online aboutthe facility. And I was like,
oh, you know, I have this. Sohappened? Yeah, my back pocket.
So I use that and updatedpictures. Because I guess the

(04:55):
way it was existing online, atleast from our perspective, was
before. Our Farm Bureau came inthe acquisition,
correct? And it was a verydifferent, no, it wasn't that it
was bad. It just was just new.
It was it was all new. And thishas been a growth process. And
so sometimes when people talk tome about, you know, changes that

(05:15):
have been made, it's like, look,everybody had to start
somewhere, you know, and youjust take that. I mean, really,
that's the essence of life, isyou take wherever you're at and
you just keep adding on to itand growing, and eventually it
becomes what it's supposed tobe. So, so, so we jumped a
little bit in from being anintern here and then being at

(05:39):
the Chamber, but tell us alittle bit more about you and
your love of communication,because I know you've done more
than just here and the chamber,because you did some stuff on
your own, and I know you workfor some other companies, and
just would love to know a littlebit about that journey and maybe
how that shifted and changedyour perception?

(06:04):
Yeah, I honestly, I think it'sADHD, a little bit of a spicy
brain, that helps me a hyperfixate on different things as as
the seasons passes. So it hasbeen fun, going from industry to
industry, working with differentcompanies. So I've worked in

(06:25):
healthcare, creating communityevents for those. I have worked
with a historic preservationorganization, and it's actually
in a different county, but I runtheir website. I do a lot of
their event marketing andhelping with event planning. I

(06:47):
have done community festivalshere, outside of the chamber,
working with another nonprofit.
And then I just lovestorytelling and so building the
full picture for any company ororganization that I work with.
So storytelling the whole bigpicture, and that is what I do
when I work with any kind oforganization, designing graphics

(07:09):
for them, creating a solidbrand. And a lot of times an
organization doesn't have asolid brand, and so that's where
I start figuring out why theyare passionate about what
they're doing, what the messagesthat they're trying to get
across to their audience, andcrafting that in a way that

(07:32):
we're not only writtenstorytelling, like the captions
that go along with posts, evendescriptions, but also the
visual aspects of it as well,and then getting that push right
on.
So you say you start with thebrand.
So I'm just gonna guess thatmost people that ask for your

(07:56):
help, or maybe don't ask foryour help, and maybe you just
see the need. I don't knowyou're a lot like me in that
like you see a need, you feelcompelled to actually say
something. But do you find thatmost of them don't even really
understand conceptually, whatthe what a brand is, and why

(08:17):
that's important?
Yes, absolutely. A lot of times,organizations will have their
mission and vision nailed down,and they've gotten a quick logo
and call it a day. But there'sjust so much more to it than
that, and consistency is key,and that's really why I lean

(08:37):
into that. I like consistency.
Again, maybe it's the ADHD, butI like consistency, and it just
helps people develop recognitionof your brand visually and like
I said, with words,So walk me through

(08:59):
the steps of how you would walksomebody through
defining their brand?
Yeah, I usually send them aquestionnaire with the over to
give me a good overview of theirorganization. So letting them
tell me background info on thebusiness, mission, vision, the

(09:21):
values that they align with,that align with what they want
to push out there. And then Iwill give them color palettes
and some mock ideas that I foundfor inspiration purposes, just
to see what what they arevisually expecting. A lot of

(09:42):
times, companies come acrossplayful, but then they don't
want to be perceived playful,and it really comes down to
asking those questions to get afull understanding of what they
are wanting to present to theiraudience.
Right bridging that gap betweenwho you are. Are as a company or
an organization, and then beingintentional about how you want

(10:07):
to present to your audience.
Because your audience may be, Idon't know, let's say it's a
game or something. Your audiencemay be kids, but you've got to
be intentional in how youtranslate that to your audience.
Yes, absolutely. Okay. Okay. Arethere any particular challenges
when you're taking on a newclient that, or even within the
work that you're doing now,anytime you're working with

(10:31):
branding? Is there, are thereparticular challenges that are
frequent, I wouldn't saynecessarily challenges, but if
there any pushback, or theorganization isn't positive on

(10:53):
the direction we're going, Ialways go back to, does this
align with your mission, vision,or even a tagline as simple as
that is something that I do withthe chamber. Our tagline is to
connect, grow and belong. And soanytime we're having events or
adding piece to an event thatwe've already had for 15 years,

(11:14):
but oh, let's add somethingelse, I asked myself,
right, right? Yeah, I know,because, like I do, I probably
saw that the tagline conceptprobably more in action. And
maybe it's just because it'spersonal, but like so the baking
that I do on the side, my littletagline has become, what are you

(11:36):
creating? You know? And it'sfunny, because people may not
remember the name of thecompany, but they remember that,
you know. And so that'sinteresting to me. And so, you
know, for people that are notmaybe hugely tech savvy, or
maybe they don't really dabblein the social media world at

(11:56):
all, you know, if you can goonline and just type what that
tagline is. Odds are it'll pickup and you'll find it. So it's
good, good information forpeople to to utilize when they
are trying to promote somethingthat's important to them. So
you've got a good variety ofevents. You've done stuff for

(12:19):
yourself, you've worked forcompanies, you interned for
company, and probably, youprobably interned for others as
well. But I happen to know aboutus, what's your favorite project
that you've worked on up to now?
Probably, I've got to thinkabout that, because I'm they're

(12:43):
all so such a wide variety ofareas.
I was just saying, Yeah, you'vegot, you've got a nice variety
there. For sure, onething I didn't even mention, I
used to work with a PR agencythat focused on country music
artists and so that would befine. And I also had another one
who it was one of their clientsof the PR company managed, and

(13:07):
he was a hot rod, and he had aYouTube channel. He was very,
very successful. He had a crazystory to go along with it. And
so it really has been all overthe place this entire journey.
Probably my favoritewas a full brand development for

(13:30):
a hair salon, and it is not yourtraditional hair salon. And so
it was just really fun to leaninto her whimsical personality
and bring that to life visually.
And it's so her. It's definitelyher brand. And it was so fun to

(13:55):
put together the logo, make itstand out. It's got a little
it's got some Easter eggs in itthat if, if you're not looking
for it, you don't see it, but Isee it, and it lines up with
everything that her brand wasand she was, it's very cottage
core fairy like, and it's justnot your traditional business.

(14:22):
So that's so the average personprobably wouldn't have thought
of that, but wouldn't that alsomake it instantly recognizable
when you see it? Yeah, yeah. Soyou mentioned easter eggs. Tell
us what the Easter eggs are.
So an Easter egg, like, you justwant a real definition, just

(14:43):
becausemost people you say easter eggs,
yes, you know where their mindsgo, and they're like, oh, Easter
bunnies, and there's eastereggs. And it's like, okay, well,
that fits. It's whimsical, yes,but you're talking about No, a
little hidden. A little hidden.
Am Jeep is somebody who usesthis concept, and they have

(15:06):
hidden icons throughout theirvehicles. And you never know if
your Jeep is going to have itand where it is. And so that was
something that I did with herlogo, was hide a little
something special in there. Andas I continue to do this, I
definitely want to join that.
It's not about go redo my logo.

(15:28):
It's, it's not about just likebasic, you know, basic text and
slapping littleon the color style, yes, okay,
all right, I happen to knowabout the Easter eggs for Jeep,
and I know that it's reallyfunny, because I have a lot of
friends that buy jeeps and thatthey go on this mass search in

(15:50):
their vehicle to see if they gotone. Yeah. And I just at first I
laughed at them, and I was like,Well, yeah, that's kind of cool.
It makes your vehicle unique,right? So Mustangs don't have,
you know, kind of feel like I'mleft out a little bit on
that. I get that my baby brotherhas a jeep, but he just, he's

(16:12):
not a Jeep guy. He just ended upwith a jeep. And I'm like, Well,
what's in your car? And he'slike, I don't know. I don't
care. And I'm like, Well, getout of the way. Let me look.
Did you find it? No, I did.
Maybe it's still there. Maybeyou didn't, maybe you just
didn't find it. So okay, soyou've got your favorite event.
What's the biggest challengethat you really struggle with

(16:35):
when you're working with aclient that you know? I mean,
there's got to be somethingchanging their mind all the
time, or just really not, maybeclearly, have a clear definition
in their head whatthey want. Yes, that definitely.
And a lot of times when Ipresent people with the

(16:56):
questionnaire, oh, I don't wantto do homework and I'm like
that. That's part of it, and ithelps us really dive in and pick
your brain. And you can't justscroll on Pinterest and say, oh,
I want that. You've got toreally put some thought into it,
because ideally, this is goingto be a long term commitment,

(17:19):
you would think their timeAbsolutely because you don't
want to rebrand every threeyears when you see something
that's cute and trendy, right?
How to really commit tosomething, but it's got to tell
your storytoo, correct? I get that. I get
that. That makes perfect senseto me. Um, and so I would think
that you do a lot of handholding. Yes, okay, but there's

(17:39):
got to be some satisfaction inthat as well, because you're
literally guiding somebody tohelp them learn, which probably
feeds that. ADHD, also, becauseyou're helping them see, you're
bringing their vision toreality, that's really a
position to be in, in that youare helping them create

(18:01):
something, even though they'renot doing it. I mean, everybody
wants the end product, buttaking the time. And I'm one of
those, I you know, it's like,I'll get somebody to help me,
because I don't know, butthere's still a responsibility
to do your own homework, to evenknow what you what you want, or
at least have some sort ofvision of what you want. Yeah,

(18:21):
okay, so you've worked on a lotof events. I know this because I
obviously work with the chamberhere too. But what's your
favorite event that you've beenable to be the most creative
with and really make adifference with

(18:43):
taste of Wilson County. I kindof, I kind of have two answers
for this. I was very active inthe entire process for taste of
Wilson County last year, and wereally were trying to step up
our game. We had new volunteers.
We had new ideas brought to thetable. And then I also took the
taste of Wilson County. Andprior to that, a lot of the

(19:07):
graphics did not align with ourbrand. But luckily, the designer
of our taste of Wilson Countylogo, I guess they know a little
about branding well, and they'rea big company around here, so of
course I do, but I love thatthey took that logo and enhanced
it and it aligns with our brand.

(19:31):
Now it's a cool logo, yeah, andit made me happy because all the
colors aligned. But I love thatthe mission and the objective of
that event is to raise money forteachers in our area, and I have
children that go to the publicschools, and I just think that

(19:53):
that's very important is that wesupport our teachers. And it was
really fun being. Not only thedesigner behind the event last
year, but I also got to I was onall of the planning committees
and working with our volunteerskeeping track of ticket sales,
and I was very deep init again this year. Yes, yep, we

(20:21):
kick back into it here in acouple of weeks,
that whole event I can, I canspeak to from personal
experience, is that what Ithought was interesting about
the logo, because I do noticethose kinds of things, you know,
I'm like, Oh, I always do. I'malways questioning in my head,
you know, like, wonder why theydid this, or I wonder why they

(20:43):
did this, but, but if you lookat it, just the color palette
that they used was timely from aseason perspective, okay? And I
was like, Okay, that wasintentional. That had to be
intentional, you know, and thento be able to participate in. It
was very cool. I love theconnection of doing something

(21:06):
that absolutely anybody in thecounty can or anybody can
participate in and enjoy, but ithelps the teachers. Okay, so
this wasn't you have to be a carenthusiast. This This wasn't you
have to be an art enthusiastthis. It wasn't that. It was
something. It was a gathering.
It was a fellowship.

(21:29):
And who doesn't like love food,who doesn't love kid friendly
activities?
Exactly? Yeah, exactly. Itwasn't 90 degrees outside. Yes,
I really appreciated that, butit really was a probably
instantly became my favoriteevent that the Chamber does,

(21:52):
just for that reason is that ittruly was making a difference
for something very importantthat affects all of us, even if
we don't have kids that go toschool, I have grandchildren
that go to this public schools.
You know, it was just, it was areally cool event. So, good job.
I mean, very good job. So what'sthe second
one? The second one is not asmuch marketing, but I like this

(22:17):
is why I do my job. I guess thiswas really one of those moments,
the Small Business AppreciationWeek this year was amazing to
me, and I really focused on ournewer small businesses that have
joined within the last couple ofyears, and we reached out to

(22:38):
them, visited them, brought themsome cookies and a little token
of appreciation, just to showthem that we're here for them.
Well, there was one lady I hadlooked into her, and we hadn't
seen her in quite some time, andshe had been really active.
Well, we went and visited her,rekindled that relationship.

(22:59):
This would have been, I think,her second year as a chamber
member, and just from thatapproach, she has started coming
back around, came to orientationand learned what we really do,
because we do so much, it's alittle overwhelming when you
first join. And so it was niceto see that rekindle

(23:20):
with emails.
I agree. I agree. So what I hearyou saying is, is that the
relationshipis the key, absolutely okay, and
that I stand firm with thatacross the board that comes down
to your volunteers, yoursponsorships, and truly, what we
can do for you at the end of theday, that's what I want to know,

(23:44):
is, what can I do for ourmembers? And it's it was nice to
see that visiting that, youknow, just a small little event
like that could really boostsomeone's business and bring
them back to us. Sothat relationship process and
that development, would you saythat translates across to any of

(24:05):
the events that you've beeninvolved in?
Yeah, I think so you've got tobuild that relationship, and
that helps people feelcomfortable to come back to you.
It really streamlines the event,because when you are
communicating, and that's partof any relationship, true, more
likely to be on the same pageinstead of

(24:30):
my philosophy has always beenthat communication is so key,
and the problem with lack ofcommunication is people fill in
the blanks for you, if you don'tgive them the information
they're going to fill in theblanks and what they fill the
blanks in with a you don't haveany control, and may or may not

(24:53):
be factual, yes, not with anyill intent, just whatever. I
mean, we all know things happenin our lives, and things shape
how we feel about stuff and and,you know, you could have
somebody take issue with you intraffic and how you look at
something 10 seconds later maybe different than how you would

(25:16):
have looked at it if you hadn'thad somebody sort of get in your
face about something and so,yeah, communication is
important. It eliminatesmiscommunication. Yes,
absolutely.
It also helps, you know, if youif you have something you need
to do, from a planningperspective, or anything like

(25:37):
that. So I think that that'simportant. I think that's a very
strong, strong thing. Do youhave any lessons learned along
the way that you're like havehelped you become who you are
today?
Honestly, it goes back tocommunication, while I'm good at

(25:59):
telling other people's stories.
When I first jumped into thisand was doing this on my own,
consistent communication was notmy cup of tea. And I've learned
over the last decade, really,and through adulthood, you've
got to be consistent, and that'swhat makes people happy, and

(26:20):
that's what makes me happy too.
So if you expect other people totreat you that way, you've got
to follow through and do it aswell. And so communication and
just having that consistency andkeeping things answered.
Gotcha. Gotcha, I would agreewith you on that too. I mean,

(26:42):
from an event plannerperspective. I mean, I've done,
I'm very much like you, and I'vedone a wide spectrum of had a
wide spectrum of roles, but theone common thread, actually two
common threads, is communicationand relationships. And how to

(27:02):
navigate change is another one,and everybody handles that
differently. How do you approachwhen change happens? You know
whether that's whether that'swith a company that you're
working with, from a brandingperspective, or within your job,

(27:24):
we've all seen a ton of change.
How do you navigate change? Ilike change.
I think change is good. Changeis a step towards the future,
regardless of what it is and itchange is necessary for
progress. And so I like just alittle bit

(27:45):
and navigating it honestly,having a system in place,
instead of blindly approachingthings. So especially with
events, change is expected. Withevents, you have a lot of the
unknown if a volunteer is notgoing to show up, or if a
sponsorship falls through, or ifit rains, you know,

(28:10):
can make all the difference inthe world.
And so just having a process andhaving a plan B set up can help
the shock factor of any change?
True, we've had event plannershere at the expo that have
totally lost their mind becauseit was thunder and lightning

(28:31):
outside, you know, and rainhappens. I mean, I didn't know
what to tell them rain happens,but they quickly came up with a
plan. So change does happen. Ithappens all the time. Doesn't
matter what you're doing. It'snot just events. It's just in
life. I like what you said aboutit being necessary for growth.

(28:53):
It's it's important that, Ithink my dad used to tell me, it
builds character, you know,because you have to learn how to
think in the moment and adapt.
And, you know, my favorite wordspivot is, you know, okay, I'm
tracking down this. I have adirection, I have a plan, but
when somebody throws a roadblockin front of me, okay, well, now
what am I to do? You know, andif you don't pivot, then you're

(29:17):
standing there with a roadblockin front of you, and you're not
going to go anywhere, you know?
And I, I will say,in 2020 the event, industry hit
a roadblock.
No question, you know. I mean,it affected all of us in it

(29:40):
didn't matter what kind ofbusiness you were in, but the
event industry in particularthat relies on people gathering
ticket sales, merchandising,just awareness or experiences,
it all took a hit. Where wereyou were? Working with companies

(30:01):
and events during that roller Iwill call it a roller coaster
timeline, because it felt like aroller coaster timeline.
Yeah, honest. Well,I know it wasn't that long ago,
but I think a majority of thatwas here, actually, right?
And so Iin that I knew you were working

(30:23):
on other projects, yeah.
Well, in that period of time, IYeah, so I kind of think
timelines, it did that period, Ileaned a little more away from
events, and that is when I wasworking remote and building

(30:49):
websites and brand development.
I was kind of like a baby inbrand development then, and so I
was leaning away from theevents, the major event that I
was involved in that year gotcanceled due to covid, and we
came back with one more yearfollowing that. And then the

(31:09):
company that I was working with,they have just pursued other
interests now and don't havethat exposition anymore. And so
it was a shift, because we wereworking with vendors. We had
models that we were working in.
It was a fashion show, and sothe way we were constructing our

(31:33):
classes and training for theshow was completely different,
you know, keeping six feet away,which I guess models do that on
the runway, but we got throughit, and I'm glad that the world
has kind of returned to normal,because I think if it would have

(31:57):
been a very big shock to me, ifI had been in the Chamber of
Commerce world then, becausethings just changed so rapidly.
And so it was good that I couldwork remote and still build my
own business, but then also notcontribute to the issues with
covid, right?

(32:17):
Because when you were here, wehad the luxury of, well, we have
the luxury and the in the hugebenefit of being able to be
here. So that was, that was, youknow, great, but we were
working. We were fortunately, wehad a website to build, and we
had branding we had to do, andall of that could be done

(32:39):
internally without us actuallyhaving to produce an event for
it. So and that was kind ofwhere I was going to there was a
pivot. There was a way tosurvive that. It just kind of
refocus and and you did thatpersonally, and you that's when
you started building yourbusiness. And so that that's the

(32:59):
pivot that I'm talking about isthat, which is why I wanted you
to elaborate a little bit,because it does make a
difference. You know. I mean,from working with event
planners, we had to pivot withthem, and it wasn't so much we
the focus was not to recruitevents. The focus was to keep

(33:23):
secure the planners that we had,and how could we support them in
that? So that was a huge pivot,and then coming out of that,
okay, now we obviously want tostay supportive, but now we have
to go back and focus on tryingto recruit. So So I mean that
that covid roller coaster wasquite the roller coaster that

(33:45):
really caused a lot of people tothink, and a lot of vent
planners went out of businessbecause they didn't pivot. You
know, it was they were very,this is just my observation. You
may have got the thoughts on it,but they just didn't know how to
adapt, you know, or maybe theirindustry, maybe it wasn't

(34:07):
possible to adapt. I mean,that's hard to say, and I
certainly would not speak forthem, but I did see some
struggle more than others, youknow. But to your point of
communication, that rollercoaster ride was huge, I think,

(34:28):
in teaching our society that weare not meant to be alone, and
that communication is criticalto our survival.
And it took me a long time. It'skind of embarrassing to say
this, but it took me a long timeto really realize that, because
I have worked remote for severalyears, and then I had a baby,

(34:53):
and I was home with a speechlesschild, essentially for it wasn't
reallygreat and. Great conversation.
It wasnot and I didn't realize until I
started working with adultsagain on a regular basis, how
how much I had minimized mypersonality and my just like day

(35:14):
to day conversations, and it wasa culture shock, really. I felt
like I was reintegrating withsociety people, yes, and I
didn't realize that until Ireally got back into it. And it
did, looking back at it, andespecially looking in pictures,

(35:35):
I can tell a difference in myconfidence and just overall how
I felt, and we do need to leanon people to people better our
lives in so many different ways.
It truly does take a village.
Yeah, yeah. I just, I mean, Idon't care if you're working in

(35:56):
corporate America, I don't careif you're working I don't care
if you're working at McDonald's,you know, or you're working for
the government, or are youworking for any municipality at
all? It doesn't matter. It's ittakes a village, because truly
if, if, and it may seemminuscule at the time, but you

(36:16):
you have this cog of things thathappen and make things happen
and support things, and you cantake one out, and you may not
feel it, but at some pointyou'll know it, you know. And I
think that's probably similar togetting a flat tire, getting a

(36:40):
nail on your tire, you know. Atfirst nothing happens, you know.
And then all of a sudden, mytire is a little low, and then
my tire keeps getting a littlelow, and then, oh, guess what,
my tire is flat.
So I've seen an amazingtransformation in you, and over
the years I have and I justthink that that's just

(37:04):
phenomenal, and I'm very proudto have been a part of that.
Thank you. So I have a reallybig question for you as we start
to wrap up, what is your WHY forwhat you
do human interaction, and reallyjust I feel fulfilled at the end

(37:26):
of the day. While I was activelyworking with clients and really
head in deep with branding andweb design. I don't want to say
I put it necessarily on the backburner, but the chamber really
is my focus now. And so while Iwas doing exclusively my
business, it got the holidayseason, and I was like, Oh, I'm

(37:49):
going to work a nighttime job,and that way I had my kids
covered, and they would neverknow that I was gone. And so I
wasn't I didn't have to have tohave a babysitter, because my
husband was there to watch thekids. And I worked that job for
about a month, and the money wasgreat, but I had no there was

(38:13):
nothing fulfilling about doingthat job, and that is really
important to me, being communityengaged, and just seeing that my
work is making a difference.
So I can totally see where thatfits your personality. I can
totally feel that and see thatyour work at the Chamber, I

(38:35):
think, has made a hugedifference, or the outcomes that
you guys are working to achieve.
So congratulations to you forthat. I mean, that's, that's a,
that's a great, great why tohave because you will always be
fulfilled, because it'll alwaysbe changing, yes, and then it
really is opportunity, andthat's awesome. Is there
anything else you want to add toyour experience down the road?

(39:00):
Um, well, I mean, I genuinelylove working with the Chamber of
Commerce. I think the thrill ofI never know what I'm walking
into every day. Yes, it keeps megoing, because it's kind of like
my career history, I havebounced industry to industry,

(39:23):
and so now I can actually dowhat I love while working with
members. We have 1700 members,so they're across all different
industries, and it's really funto go and do ribbon cuttings and
spotlights, and even with thecommunity events and be engaged
in our community, but in alldifferent business aspects. Very

(39:47):
cool. Thank you for being withus today. I appreciate it. I am
so tickled to have you on theshow and wish you well in your
future endeavors with thechamber.
Thank you. No problem. You.