After 25 years of welcoming new business and residents, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce recognizes its silver anniversary with an eye on the future of economic growth in the town.
From its humble beginnings with a two-person volunteer staff in the back of a home, the chamber has grown to a force in Arlington under the leadership of Tonia Howell, the current director. In the eight years with Howell at the helm, the chamber membership has grown from 88 to more than 300.
“Tonia has taken this chamber of commerce into a new century, implementing ideas and getting stuff done,” Brian Elder of Brian Elder Roofing and the chamber president from 2010 to 2012 said. “She just brings so much organization and energy.”
The growth of the chamber is a long way from the start during former mayor George Horton’s administration in 1996. Ruby and the late Don Hannah ran the chamber for several years out of their 151-year-old home at 12015 Brown Street.
“We met at Arlington Presbyterian Church for several years, and then we moved the office into our house in the corner of our den,” Ruby said. Don served as vice president and then president, and Ruby assisted him by writing the chamber newsletter. The Hannah home would serve as the chamber offices off-and-on for about eight years.
“People would come and knock on the door as they were going to work at 7 in the morning to find something out about the chamber, or they might call at 10 o’clock at night,” she said. “We enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun, and we met a lot of great people.”
To generate money, the chamber held car shows and golf tournaments. Don served as vice president and then president of the chamber until poor health forced him to relinquish his duties.
The meetings changed to quarterly, and the board met monthly. The chamber eventually held monthly meetings for the membership, charging for the food at luncheons, before having sponsors and local lunch providers for the sessions, Elder said.
When Howell arrived eight years ago, she focused on members telling her what they needed from her and the chamber. Howell, with experience in marketing including 11 years at Harding Academy, recognized the varied sizes and types of businesses contributed to varied necessities. The events and membership have continued to grow over the years, except for some slowdown during the past year-plus because of COVID-19.
“The pandemic presented challenges to everyone in society, and the chamber and our members were no exception,” Howell said. “We changed how we did almost everything so that we could continue to serve and support our members through what was probably the biggest challenge of their work careers.”
The past year’s challenges were eased with work among the Shelby County Chamber Alliance, composed of the six suburban chambers sharing information and strategies to survive the recent tough times.
Howell is also pleased with the partnership built with the town over the past eight years, working on numerous projects she believes add great value to chamber members and the entire community.
“Being a smaller municipality with limited staff, we rely heavily on the Arlington Chamber,” Mayor Mike Wissman said. “Tonia has done a wonderful job of growing the chamber and business relationships in town. Many times, she sits in for us on economic development meetings, and we appreciate all she does for this town.”
By Michael Waddell, Special to the Daily Memphian | Published: June 30, 2021