Proffer is new chamber chief

Relative newcomer has bright plans

The Newcastle Area Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director as of Sept. 13 when Newcastle resident Jennifer Proffer was appointed to this position. Proffer moved to the area in early 2017, and as a newcomer, she had to find her footing and work out living in a rural community.

“It can be hard as an outsider to get to know people and make friends, but once you break those barriers, they are the most ‘shirt off my back’ type of people,” Proffer said.

She believes a main goal of the chamber is to promote and better the businesses of Newcastle, and she noted that when the businesses of the community operate as a whole, they are working together to make the community better, and that benefits local businesses in return.

The chamber is made up of a group of businesses, and governed by a board of directors who make decisions on ways they can help enhance Newcastle. One of the main ways they do so is by planning events to promote its member businesses.

As executive director, Proffer will perform a number of other duties as well. They include keeping the visitors center open, fund-raising and planning events for individual businesses.

As a newcomer, Proffer said, she has bright views for the development of the town. Those ideas, in part, prompted her to get involved with the chamber. She wants to give back to the community, and said she has plans for the businesses in the community for years to come.

She believes some important pieces are in place already to help her succeed, noting that she loves the people of the community, and also sees a lot of potential in its history.

“It has so much history, and I think that is the coolest part about Newcastle,” she said.

Proffer told the News Letter Journal that without the encouragement of fellow chamber member Ginny Wisnewski, she would not have applied for the job.

Wisnewski has helped Proffer with planning, communicating and fund-raising as she settles into the position, and another of Proffer’s supporters has been Holly Borton, the chamber’s previous executive director.

“Since she was in this position before, she has been a really good mentor,” Proffer said.

Last but not least, Proffer has also received a helping hand from Henry Nessul, the current chamber president.

“They don’t want to see me fail. They have a lot of hope and are bending over backwards to help me succeed,” Proffer said

This is Nessul’s second year on the board of directors, and although he is set to step down before the end of the year, Proffer said, he has been a huge help in her transition.

“He is the nuts and bolts behind the chamber,” she said.

Nessul, a small-business owner in the community, said he sees the value of the chamber and is motivated to keep it going. He describes the chamber as a coalition of businesses that has been brought together by the organization. Its purpose is to bring money and visitors into the community, but Nessul said he recognizes that beyond the practical side of things, the chamber has other missions to fulfill.

“The chamber is also supposed to bring fun things,” Nessul said.

A large portion of what Proffer is responsible for in the chamber is planning and organizing these fun things for both the community and businesses.

“She has learned really well and really quick. She is a good face for the chamber,” Nessul said.

He told the NLJ that he has also been responsible for showing Proffer the ropes on the background tasks that are essential for the Chamber to operate as an organization.

“I am teaching her the tedious side,” he said.

Learning both the practical aspects of her new job that contribute to running the chamber, and looking into more community-engaging events has been exciting for Proffer so far.

“This new board has a lot of hopes and motivation for change. I just ask that the community watches for the changes and is open (to them),” Proffer explained.

She stepped into the role with the vision of bringing businesses together with the community to function as a unit. Proffer said she sees advantages to operating as a team and wants to use her position in the chamber to move that idea along.

“The more we can have Newcastle as one, working together, the better,” she said.

Nessul agrees with Proffer’s outlook on community operations and has similar hopes for the chamber.

“The chamber is the community; it is not an independent body, it is part of it,” he said, “and she is going to be an absolute benefit.”