Year One With The Woodbury Chamber Director

It’s been almost a year since the named its first executive director.

, to head up the local business group, coming over from the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce.

Martinson recently sat down with Woodbury Patch to report back on her first year on the job.

Woodbury Patch: How are things going?

Travis Martinson: Things are going really well, despite the economy and this being the first year having this role. We kind of rocked it out.

We had 100 new members at the end of the year, close to 110. We met or exceeded our goals and have a strong renewal rate. (The chamber was up to 355 members as of Dec. 28.)

It was a very successful year for our organization as a whole while other similar organizations hadn’t done as well. The board really made some good decisions.

Patch: What are some of the past year’s successes?

Martinson: One hundred new members—we did that. I also wanted to get going on a women’s series, but that was pushed back to 2012.

Our series was a big success, part of our government affairs committee. We’re conscious of the fact that one of the responsibilities of a chamber is to allow access to elected officials, whose decisions affect us. We let our members be heard. And it was not only our members asking for it—our elected officials wanted to connect with our business members.

Patch: What challenges did you face over the past year?

Martinson: There were really two things. First, we had such rapid growth and development that it was hard to keep up. For the first six months it was really just one and a half people, with me a Kim (Snyder). Then we added Lindsay (Nelson). We grew too fast for our infrastructure.

The other thing is, this was a very board-involved, volunteer-driven organization, and to have someone come in and take that responsibility—it allowed them to do that upper-level thinking. That was just the natural progression of the changes.

It goes into the solid foundation that I came in to build upon. People spent so much blood, sweat and tears, and some thought that I couldn’t connect to the role because I’m not from Woodbury. It was hard to let go to this newbie. It’s their baby—it still is.

Patch: What is the chamber’s role in the city?

Martinson: Ultimately, we have three components. One, to offer options for businesses to connect through networking outlets, marketing ventures and other opportunities.

Second, to offer opportunities for professional development: low- to no-cost business development classes.

Third—and we really did a good job of it this year with the government affairs committee—is give our members a voice in policy that affects them.

Patch: What are you looking forward to in 2012?

Martinson: For right now, 100 new members is one. I think we can do it.

I do want to add those women’s programs, but the focus for 2012 will be to maximize the opportunities we have and do them better. And 2012 will really be the year of refining what we’re doing effectively.

We’ll help our members market themselves to the community and tie that into some sort of shop-local campaign. We’re looking for partners on that.

Patch: Anything else you’d like to add?

Martinson: We’re poised to be chugging along and building on the success we’ve had. We’ve really only hit the tip of the iceberg. That’s exciting because I think we can continue to expand on what we’re offering.