Affiliate Chamber Spotlight: 2020 Knoxville Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Name + Website

Knoxville Chamber of Commerce

Elected leader for 2020

Kevin Stittsworth, President, Board of Directors

Professional Staff Leader of the Chamber

Hannah Vander Veer, Director

Number of Members

150 Members

How Does a Business Join Your Chamber?

Joining our Chamber is easy and can be done over the phone or through email. Anyone interested in joining the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce can either call the office at (641) 828-7555 or send our staff an email at info@knoxvilleiachamber.com.

What Inspired You to First Get Involved with Your Chamber?

I love my hometown. I’m a life-long resident and chose to remain in town because there is something special about our people and our community. I have a deep appreciation and respect for those who came before me and invested their time, talent and treasure into our community to ensure not only its success, but my success. I am purposeful to follow in their footsteps so that the next generation can be successful and as proud of their hometown as I am. I’m honored to work alongside a team of servant-hearted people who are passionate about Knoxville, passionate about its future and passionate about uniting and engaging our local business community.

What is a Signature Offering of Your Chamber?

We host several events each month to provide our members an opportunity to network with one another, specifically Lunch and Learns, Let’s Meet for Koffee, Out for Lunch at local parks during the summer and Facebook Live one-on-one interviews with local business leaders and experts.

What is Your Chamber’s Biggest Accomplishment in the Past 12 Months?

We’ve celebrated several successes this year, including the launch of our new knoxvilleiachamber.com website, which serves as a resource and tool to promote our businesses and community to our residents, Chamber members and visitors. We are also thrilled to have hired an additional staff member earlier this year to manage our marketing, social media and special projects.

What Initiative/Project Are You Looking Forward to in the Upcoming Year?

We miss being able to visit with our members face-to-face and are eager to resume our monthly events when things return to normal.

What Partnership Tools/Resources Have Been Most Beneficial to Your Chamber Members?

During these unprecedented times, we’ve spent the majority of our time helping our businesses navigate through the flood of information the government and CDC has shared in recent weeks (PPP loan, business grants, social distancing guidelines, etc.). Serving as this resource for our businesses has allowed them more time to focus on their business priorities, plans and strategies and reduced the stress and hassle of figuring out the policies on their own. The resources provided by the Partnership have allowed us to communicate the information more effectively to our members.

What Are Your Upcoming Events?

We are co-hosting the first-ever Marion County Shop Small Crawl from August 27-29. Local businesses will provide a socially distanced shopping experience complete with prize drawings and giveaways. We have almost 40 businesses participating!

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the fourth largest regional Chamber of Commerce in the nation. Learn more about Partnership Affiliate Chambers, browse the Membership Directory and read additional Affiliate Chamber spotlights.