It’s safe to say that when an organization starts a new year with a new executive director and a new president of its governing board, there will be plenty of new opportunities. With this “new blood” in place, almost every aspect of a group’s mission is evaluated, from short-term objectives to long-term goals, in a typically healthy process to achieve the more impact.
The Kent County Chamber of Commerce, with its membership of over 300, is one of the Mid-Shore’s most well-known and respected business associations, that is currently experiencing this phenomenon.
With Sam Shoge as the Chamber’s new executive director this spring, and Bryan Matthews assuming his new role as president of the organization in January, a unique dynamic duo will be at the helm.
Shoge, a long-time resident of Kent County,former Town of Chestertown Council member, and most recently, a member of the Talbot County Economic Development office, was eager to take on this new role to combine his passion for entrepreneurship and business development with his love of community.
Matthews, a former coach and vice president at Washington College, and now for many years, a vice president at KRM Development Corporation, was also motivated to find new ways to help Chamber members through further education and networking programs.
The Spy sat down with both of them, appropriately socially distanced, to talk about the future of commerce in Kent County and their combined effort to reinforce the relevancy of the Chamber as the county prepares to enter a new and unpredictable world as the region begins to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
This video is approximately four minutes in length. To learn more about the Kent County Chamber of Commerce please go here
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.