By Ashley McLeod, staff writer
Mar 4, 2016, 16:06
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — After months of the executive director position sitting vacant, the Colonial Heights Chamber of Commerce filled the seat in January, hiring former member John Brandt.
Brandt, who lives in Colonial Heights with his wife, son, and grandchild, joined the chamber about eight years ago when he owned his own T-shirt and promotional products business in the city. He was a member for four years before leaving.
Four years later, he has become a part of the chamber again, following the death of Roger Green, the previous executive director.
When the position was listed, Brandt said that several members of the chamber encouraged him to apply for the position; from their previous networking experience with him, they felt he was a good fit for the job.
After applying, and having multiple interviews, Brandt was brought onto the chamber team.
In his new office, Brandt brings a new level of passion for the chamber.
“I care about Colonial Heights community, and I care about how the businesses were being treated,” said Brandt.
With the use of social media in today’s society growing every day, Brandt sees the opportunity for the chamber to expand and grow by taking advantage of this different path of getting information out to people.
“That’s the way that consumers are buying now, and we want to make sure that our businesses are being promoted to the point that they’re being valued in the city,” said Brandt.
To promote using social media as a way to build a business, Brandt has set up training classes for business owners at all different times of the day, so that they can learn to take advantage of social media as a way of promotion.
Brandt is a big advocate of supporting local businesses, making his addition to the chamber a perfect fit.
“We need to learn how to support local before we go to these big conglomerate businesses and spend all our money with them,” said Brandt.
Brandt said that by encouraging citizens to shop locally, money gets circulated back into the city, supporting the area as a whole. By shopping locally, money, especially taxes, is going back into the system, helping the city to thrive.
“When it comes down to it, if the economic development of our city is not being done then it’s going to be on us, the citizens, that have to pay for the government to run,” said Brandt.
Supporting local businesses allows for growth in the city, and the more support the community gives, the more likely businesses will stay open and thriving.
Brandt said that if a business fails in Colonial Heights, he feels like it’s partially his fault, which is why he is focused on being hands-on and involved in local businesses.
Brandt also wants the future of the chamber in Colonial Heights to become more family-friendly than it is currently. He plans to have more events where business owners can network and be around other local business owners, but still be able to get off of work, and go out and spend time with their families as well.
Brandt brings to the chamber a new set of eyes on how to make Colonial Heights better. With his sales and marketing skills, he hopes to bring more progress to the city.
“The chamber is a great place to be, we’re going to unite together in order to be a stronger community,” said Brandt.
