Affiliate Chamber Spotlight: Newton Area Chamber of Commerce
Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce
Elected Leaders for 2019
Jeff Holschuh, 2019 Board Chair
Amanda Price, Executive Director
Number of Members
What Inspired You to First Get Involved with Your Chamber?
I was inspired to first get involved with the Chamber because I saw the importance of networking. The Chamber provided numerous networking opportunities which were key for meeting other business professionals and utilizing their resources and experiences.
What’s a Signature Offering of Your Chamber?
A signature offering of the Newton Chamber is that we offer community-focused events. The July 4th Parade not only is fun for the community, but it is also a great way for our members to showcase their businesses/organizations to a large audience.
What is Your Chamber’s Biggest Accomplishment in the Past 12 Months?
In the past 12 months the Newton Chamber board has undergone a major strategic planning overhaul. The last plan was done more than 10 years ago and so it was long overdue to dive in and really see if our mission and values were the same as they were 10 years ago. So much has changed in our industry in that amount of time and it was crucial to our success moving forward to start thinking of our future.
We also continue to grow our ambassador program which is a great source of pride for our Chamber. The Ambassadors are a fun group of about 22 members that volunteer and serve as a welcoming arm of the Chamber to new members and prospective members. They mentor new members and keep that lifeline between business and chamber membership that is so vital to our success as a Chamber. Being an ambassador is a great way for businesses/organizations to build leadership skills in their employees. There are opportunities for event planning, and leadership roles within the ambassador program. We also look to the ambassadors to one day take on larger leadership roles by serving on the Chamber board. This keeps that business engaged for many years and stay involved as much as possible which is how they can get the most out of their membership.
What Initiative/Project Are You Looking Forward to in 2019?
We are looking forward to hosting another women’s mentoring event in 2020. Our 2019 event was very successful and exceeded our expectations. We had women attend in many different industries and nonprofits including restaurant owners, police officers, community leaders and small business owners. There is a definite need for this event every year and we are excited to combine our efforts with our neighboring chambers, Knoxville and Grinnell. We hope to make this event bigger and better in 2020.
What Are Your Upcoming Events?
The Newton Chamber has a couple of fun events coming up yet this year including our annual Lighted Holiday Parade and our Jasper County Courthouse Lighting, otherwise known as the Lighted Holiday Festival. The Festival will take place on Friday, November 29 from 5-8 p.m. The courthouse will light up at 6 p.m. with the parade to follow. Included in this event are free horse and carriage rides around downtown, a festival of trees put on by our local 4-H Clubs inside the courthouse and of course Santa and Mrs. Claus in the courthouse. This event gathers thousands of locals and visitors every year and we are proud to spearhead what has become an annual favorite in Newton.
Jeff Holschuh
Jeff Holschuh is marketing director for Advantage Credit Union in Newton. He has been a Newton resident since 2010 and involved with the Chamber since becoming an Ambassador. Jeff has also been involved with Young Professionals of Jasper County, the Convention and Visitor's Bureau and serves on the Chamber board.