DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) – The new President and CEO of the De Pere Area Chamber of Commerce is hoping to help local businesses prosper. But she has to get to know them first.
Kitty Johnson took over at the De Pere Area Chamber on April 4th, and she’s been working to familiarize herself with every business, organization, and municipality she can.
“I’m feeling more and more comfortable in the role. I’m starting to get a better handle on who’s who and what’s where,” Johnson told WTAQ News. “It’s critical. I’m a relationship builder by nature, and I kind of think that a chamber is the same thing, a chamber is a relationship builder…Building a relationship with the businesses in the area, building relationships with the different organizations, the municipalities, the economic development – We need to have those relationships. It’s critical that we have that – and obviously it’s not going to happen overnight.”
That’s why the Chamber is hosting an event for members and non-members to meet her. But Wednesday’s “Meet Kitty” event isn’t exclusively for her to learn more.
“A lot of the people that will come to the event, I’ll be new to them and they’ll be new to me. A lot of them know each other already, but there will still be some that don’t know each other that will be able to network,” Johnson said. “It’s hard for me to get out to meet every single person. I’ve been in a lot of coffee meetings, and I don’t want to stop doing those, but sometimes to have 20, 30 , 50 people in a room that you can walk around and meet, shake hands, and talk a little bit [is helpful].”
Johnson is confident in her vision for the growth of the De Pere Area Chamber of Commerce, and has a goal to work with future generations within the community.
“That really is our goal, is to be that liaison and connection point to helping businesses in the community connect, but also for education,” Johnson said. “Working with our youth, the high school and hopefully college students who are contemplating if they stay in De Pere or find work somewhere else…What kind of job opportunities there are, or maybe they want to start a business of their own. We want to be that resource for them.”
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