MAKING A MOVE, MAKING CHANGE
Chamber relocates to former Trustmark Bank building
Southaven Chamber of Commerce grabs a new spot in old Trustmark building.
The Southaven Chamber of Commerce has been serving Southaven’s business community since 1969 but it never owned its own property. That all changed this summer when it moved into the former Trustmark Bank location at 500 Main St.
That building, located in Southaven’s West End district, was, fittingly, built in 1969. However, you’d never know its age by what the Chamber has done with the 3,600 square foot structure that sat empty for eight years.
Walls were constructed to break up the bank’s main customer area to create a welcoming front desk/ lobby with a large window that looks into and out from the office of executive director, Carmen Kyle.
Beyond the main lobby are several more offices, a learning center, small business development room and a conference room. Large double doors in the conference room that replaced what was the bank’s drive thru window now open up to an outdoor patio complete with ceiling fans built on what was once the bank’s drive through lanes.
Kyle, who headed up the move, said she likes the visibility of the building which sits right in front of the newly opened Conn’s Home Plus store facing Main Street, also known as Stateline Road. She also felt strongly about the Chamber being located in the West End which is going through a period of revitalization.
“The West End is the original business district for Southaven. It all started here, and we wanted to be here,” Kyle said.
For the past 20 years, the Chamber was located within a 1,600 square foot area inside Southaven City Hall. The limited amount of space often forced the organization to borrow space to hold its many educational programs, luncheons and other events.
The new facility’s dedicated learning center seats around a dozen people and will host in-house educational programs that focus on things like improving member businesses’ cyber security and addressing other business concerns.
A room dedicated for small business development is where Kyle and her team help young businesses with things like filing to form a limited liability company (LLC) and with strategic planning, something Kyle said they’ve been doing at the new location even while the smell of fresh paint still lingers and furniture is still being assembled.
“We are a business organization that promotes the health and welfare of the business community and that benefits the city and the residents,” Kyle said. “We are dedicated to being relevant to the business community and our new facility speaks to those values and how we are growing for the future.”
Denise Silas has been a Southaven Chamber of Commerce ambassador for more than five years. She represents the business community of Brown Missionary Baptist Church and also in her capacity as an independent Mary Kay sales director. She currently serves on the Chamber’s Board of Directors.
“We call the new building the member’s house. I’m excited about the new building so people will see it independent of the city and its facilities and belonging to the members. They will be able to come and utilize the Chamber resources, and if they need a meeting space that we can to provide it,” Silas said.
Silas said she’s excited to use the patio for informal events and using the training room for educational programs.
“I can see us using that patio for the Cocktails and Conversation, and Coffee and Conversation networking events. That’s something we could never have done in the old office. We always had to rely on other members for space rather than being able to offer them space,” she said.
Silas also feels having a separate building will make more people think of the Chamber as the resource for businesses and realize that although the Chamber works closely with the city of Southaven it’s not a part of the city but a part of the business community.
The Southaven Chamber of Commerce will hold a grand opening of their location Aug. 11 from 3-6 p.m., which will include an address by Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite. The event will feature door prizes, raffles and hors d’oeuvres is free and open to the public.