State of Industry a stellar event, even online
As the president and chief executive officer of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce, it is my responsibility to partner with the board of directors, members, and staff to accomplish the Chamber mission statement.
Connecting members and the community to promote economic growth is at the very heart of that mission statement, so meetings, conferences, events and networking always have been vital components of our program of work. And then came COVID. Almost overnight, we had to close the doors that had been wide open for years and cancel a calendar full of committee meetings and Chamber events. The annual State of Industry Event, a signature program traditionally held in July, was impacted by that calendar cut.
Facing the same challenges as so many others, the Chamber used technology to present the event. It was a resounding success and evidence of a favorite quote:
“The harder we work, the luckier we get.” Thanks to the formidable efforts of the Chamber Board, Education & Workforce Development Committee and Chamber staff members Kim Gallman, Joni Harbin and Nichol Linn, as well as the profound generosity of AdventHealth Gordon and thirteen other sponsors, the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce was able to present its first virtual event.
Not only was the webinar event well attended, but the attention response was astronomical at 95%, indicating that all but 5% of those who logged in for the presentation stayed until the end. Russell Grizzle, president and CEO of Mannington Mills, provided the keynote address and made himself available for questions from the audience afterwards. That attention response number makes it clear that his remarks were considered interesting and relevant.
As the event was happening, I personally received emails from members indicating the same: they were gathering in small, safe groups to enjoy the event. Chamber partners throughout the community were finding their own ways to come together. At the end of the event, I received congratulatory emails from members across our roster, including representatives of the flooring industry.
One of those compliments came from Brandi Owczarz, owner of Gordon Gazette. “With COVID-19 changing the way businesses, churches, governments and even households run and operate, the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce proved their innovation and flexibility by holding the 10th annual State of Industry event through a webinar on Friday, July 24,” she said to me in an email after the event.
AdventHealth Gordon demonstrated remarkable generosity in their financial support of this event and provided quality video content for the webinar. First Bank of Calhoun, Fox Systems, Mannington Mills, Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries Group, Starr-Mathews Agency, and Synovus came forward as President’s Sponsors of the event. The Development Authority of Gordon County, Family Savings Credit Union, Georgia Power, and M&S Logistics came right behind them as Engineer’s Sponsors. Both Calhoun City Schools and Gordon County Schools supported the event at the Innovator’s level.
All in all, it was a stellar event and I simply could not be prouder of its success. Ask me in public what gave rise to the success, and I’ll just wink and tell you we got lucky. But we know better, don’t we?