Affiliate Chamber Spotlight: 2021 Knoxville Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Name + Website

Knoxville Chamber of Commerce
Choose Knoxville

Elected Leader for 2021

Sara Roberts, president, board of directors

Professional Staff Leader of the Chamber

Emma Skahill, executive 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’ve always had a passion for business and for helping others. There was a period when volunteers were becoming hard to find. I saw a need in the Chamber for new volunteers and I was drawn to help.

What is a Signature Offering of Your Chamber?

We host several events to provide our members an opportunity to network and learn tips for growing their businesses, including our monthly Let’s Meet for Koffee. We also plan the McKay Group Knoxville Nationals parade each year, drawing thousands of guests to our downtown area to help support our locally owned businesses.

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

Our biggest accomplishment this year has been hosting several successful community events and helping to promote our town. We brought back an old community favorite event called Ridiculous Day. We selected a Saturday in June, and all businesses were encouraged to get Ridiculous – whether that be with sales, costumes, games, etc. We had many service-based businesses join in by offering games and prizes at their locations and helped drive our community members into the retail spaces. This has long been a nostalgic favorite for many community members, so it was a lot of fun to bring it back. In addition to that, we successfully welcomed and hosted thousands of race fans to our community during the NASCAR race with a Block Party and the 60th Annual Knoxville Nationals with our HIRTA Shuttles and the Nationals Parade.

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

We will continue to improve our offerings and services to support existing and new members. One way that we are doing that is with the launch of our new tourism website: chooseknoxvilleiowa.com. We have several exciting developments happening in our community as well. Our school district is in the process of building a new middle school and upgrading many of our facilities. In addition to that, we are seeing progress on the VA ground and brand-new housing projects pop up. We are on the verge of amazing growth for our town and with that brings a lot of excitement that we anticipate will also turn into new businesses!

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

We have been so impressed with the information and resources provided to our members surrounding the pandemic. The Partnership did such a great job in the early days, and they continue to provide invaluable information to our members that is greatly needed in this ever-changing climate.

What Are Your Upcoming Events?

• Communication for Destinations Guide Training – Tuesday, Sept. 28
• Connecting for Women – Wednesday, Oct. 6
• Let’s Meet for Koffee – Thursday, Oct. 7

See more upcoming Knoxville Chamber events here.

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.