The St. Tammany West Chamber is fortunate to have a Board of Directors and Executive Committee comprised of a wide range of individuals who understand our purpose and mission. Together, they work to promote business and the community, provide programs and activities that benefit our entire 1,000 plus members, and strengthen the business climate of St. Tammany Parish.
The Executive Committee is made up of seven business leaders, who each donate a great deal of their energy and expertise to advancing our goals and objectives, in the end accomplishing specific tasks through their leadership.
Our 2009 Board Chairman is Jean Champagne. Holding a C.P.A. and J.D. degree, Jean was promoted to the main leadership role after serving in several other capacities primarily in the area of governmental affairs. He has traveled to Washington, D.C. on several past Chamber fly-ins where he served as our spokesperson to congressmen, senators, and presidential cabinet leaders. He has led several other community and government organizations and boards, therefore bringing that organizational expertise to this critical role with our Chamber.
Our Chair-Elect is Michele Avery, C.P.A. with LaPorte Sehrt Romig Hand. Michelle has been active in the L.S.U. Alumni Association, the Public Affairs Research Council (P.A.R.), and is currently spear-heading the development of a Young Professionals group for St. Tammany. She has been active as a past Membership Division Vice-Chairman and Treasurer, and in 2010 will be the first woman Board Chair since 2001.
Immediate past-Chairman David Guzan, C.E.O. of Fairway Medical Center, is also the founder of and the current Chairman of the St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance, an employer-driven initiative that develops action-oriented solutions to recruit, retain and train skilled healthcare workers. A resident of Hammond, David has brought a wealth of business skills to our leadership team, helping us to retain our relevance as a leading business organization in the northshore and Greater New Orleans region.
Our 2009 Treasurer is Lisa Blossman, Publisher of CityBusiness North Shore Report. A long time active Chamber member, she was nominated to return to our Board because of her leadership role on the Board during her first term when she led our Membership Drive in 2004 and created the silent and live auction addition to our annual Banquet. The success these efforts reaped—among many other milestones by our Board during her first tenure-- earned her the reward of “Board Member of the Year.” As Treasurer, Lisa is in line to be our 2011 Chairman of the Board.
The Joint Public Policy Division is led by Danny Schaus of Cleco. Danny is also a returning Board member and a past-Chairman of both the East St. Tammany Chamber and Economic Development Foundation. He remains active on the East St. Tammany Chamber Board and is a leader in growing the two Chambers’ collaboration and partnerships this year.
Two of this year’s newcomers to our leadership team are Amy Edwards of Capital One, and Stewart Shields of Bruce Shields & Associates, LLC. After serving on our Ambassadors and as Chairman of the Small Business Advisory Council, Stewart is now the Vice-Chairman of our Business Support Division. Amy heads up the Membership Division. She earned the seat through her leadership on our Membership Committee, being a top recruiter and team leader since 2004. She is among those whose efforts carried us to the 1,000 member mark, and helped us retain those members and our status as a large Chamber ever since. She has plans for continuing to lead our membership growth through revamping our Ambassador program, recognition of long-time members, and successfully funding the Chamber through non-dues revenue by chairing this year’s $10,000 Super Raffle Party set for Saturday, August 15.
For more information on our Board of Directors, committees, and overall Program of Work, visit our website at www.sttammanychamber.org.