Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau

MILLERSBURG – The Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism office is still busy and plans this year to study how much tourism is affecting the region, both in US dollars and in terms of visitor numbers.

There’s a new leadership working to keep things moving as Executive Director Tiffany Gerber and her staff leave 2020 behind and move forward.

“We may not have been visible in the community, but we were very busy working our tails here in the office,” Gerber said of 2020.

The Board of Directors has set up four pillars, core projects, within the Chamber, on which the members can focus in 2021. The pillars are tourism, incubation, leadership and membership.

Board President Brett Gallion said 2020 had been quite a year and the chamber had done a good job adjusting and moving forward.

“What 2020 turned out to be, with the global pandemic causing such chaos around the world,” said Gallion. “I am proud that our Holmes County Chamber has been agile, responsive and supportive to our business community and members, and we will continue that effort through 2021.

“We started the year transitioning to our new director, Tiffany Gerber, and we never imagined the changes we would see or the opportunities that would soon arise,” he continued. “In 2020 the Board of Directors strategically created four pillars for our organization to focus on tourism, leadership, incubation and membership. We have made progress every year and will continue to focus on the pillars this year.”

Gerber said tourism was one of the chamber’s main pillars for good reason.

“Tourism is an animal in its own right,” said Gerber. “We intend to invest in an economic impact study to get an accurate picture of the amount of money tourism is actually bringing to the county and the number of visitors.”

Set goals, see them through

She said the chamber is looking at partnerships with universities offering MBA programs to carry out such projects.

“We don’t know what will bring in 2021, but we hope to at least get the formula or develop a skeleton on how to track this information and get good numbers,” Gerber said. “That is a big goal in tourism.

“Booting up our social media is another goal,” she added. “We tacitly launched a new website for both the Chamber and the Tourist Office last year. During the pandemic, we actually had the opportunity to tweak it, update our member information and add videos and dynamic intuitive information to the website, not just a list of things to do, but also a suggested itinerary or video of things to do during the day to explore our stores. It’s more immersive for the visitors who can imagine here. “

Gerber said the office of the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism is trying to identify a broader base of visitors to Holmes County.

“We want to target young couples, groups of friends and groups of men who are getting together for a golf trip,” she said. “We want to expand our message to include everything that is wonderful about the Amish Country. But there is more to see. Stay an extra day to explore the wineries, or go to the outdoor recreation areas, or go shopping. Our goal is it Let visitors who already know our Amish product know that there is still more to do in Holmes County. “

The partnership between the chamber and the business world

The Incubation Pillar looks at the Chamber’s role in Holmes County’s business world, from identifying infrastructure issues to developing the workforce to physically recruiting new businesses.

“This committee is new and defining itself as you go,” said Gerber.

Opportunities such as Leadership Holmes County and possibly school-age program development or Leadership 2.0 are the next step.

“We plan to develop programs that will involve people who have completed our leadership programs to prepare them to become boards of directors of nonprofits,” she said. “Many of the goals we set for 2020 are targeted in 2021 because of the pandemic. Talks have started, but our ability to come together has been limited.”

Holmes County’s leadership, led by Leah Miller, is on hold, but plans to have a class of some form later this year for 2021. Last year’s class was halfway through the program before closing. The chamber is trying to work out a plan to complete last year’s program.

“So much of the leadership class goes out and touring companies and organizations that it was impossible for the class to get the most of it without being personal,” said Gerber. “We’re waiting and looking for opportunities.”

Membership Needs and Chamber Programs

Membership and the identification of the needs of members is the fourth pillar. Updating programs and identifying programs members are looking for that are not currently offered fall under this category. What are the needs of the members, and that includes member recruitment.

During the pandemic, the chamber was open and helping visitors.

“The number of inquiries we received, the calls, they have remained constant,” said Gerber. “Many of the visitors who come in contact plan in a much shorter time frame. They don’t call to plan their next summer vacation. They are trying to find a Valentine’s Day package or a weekend getaway. The planning time is much shorter.

“People show up on a Friday hoping for a room,” she continued. “They wait until the last minute to make sure they can leave. That changed the traffic pattern for us too.”

People can call ahead and tell the chamber they want to come and a member of staff will walk to their car, or they can come down to the anteroom and pick up one of the brochures available.

Faces of the Holmes County Chamber

Gerber said there are many new faces in the Chamber of Commerce and the tourist office.

“We are assuming a strong foundation,” said Gerber. “Shasta (Mast) and former employees brought us to a climax before me and the new employees came on board. We basically have brand new employees. Through a series of coincidences and events, we replaced each position because people either do the Leaving industry, moving into other positions or retiring. “

Starting from a blank page, Gerber has restructured the Chamber of Commerce staff.

While Mast stepped down as director last year, she still oversees the Hardwood Furniture Guild.

Shannon Carter came on board as Brand Manager in fall 2019. Her position is responsible for the Chamber of Commerce’s social media presence, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube.

“She takes care of our brand online,” said Gerber. “She is responsible for the content and programs for followers. She maintains website listings for our members for both of the websites we manage. Social media has become such a big part of marketing that we realized we needed a person.” who is into social media and engaged Shannon is that person. “

Logan Black is sales manager for the chamber. She is responsible for membership development, member recruitment and sales of advertising in the Map & Visitors Guide published annually by the Chamber.

“You and I will work closely with our board of directors to identify and implement new programs for the coming year,” said Gerber. “Your title is small, but your role is huge.”

Samantha Whitworth takes care of the bookkeeping and office manager on a daily basis and helps greet visitors. The Chamber keeps records for the Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Tourist Office, Hardwood Furniture Guild, and Accommodation Council and Farmers Market

“She has her hands full,” said Gerber. “We hired her to take on the front desk duties, but she took on the financial duties. We moved her and she is fine.”

Lauren Schrock is a project manager and helps the rest of the staff on projects, handling the mail, answering emails, greeting visitors and doing all the frontline tasks.

“There is no doubt that 2020 has had a major impact on our year 2021,” said Gallion. “I am very happy about the progress of the chamber in the next year. Without our membership or our staff in the chamber we would not have been able to do any of this. We are very grateful for both of them.”

There was no banquet in 2020, so the Small, Medium, and Large Business of the Year were not recognized, but the organization has recognized the efforts of several Holmes County companies that excelled in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

“Companies that created PPE that helped with the food chain, our medical defenses first and foremost, were honored with a plaque that was supplied to their companies or organizations,” said Gerber. “We also honored our event sponsors from last year.”

Reporter Kevin Lynch can be contacted at klynch@the-daily-record.com.