Chamber shows off younger leadership group

Indicative of a younger leadership group at the Putnam County Chamber, Andrew O’Hair makes his opening remarks as Chamber president during the annual dinner Saturday evening at Tiger Pointe Country Club.

Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN

Don’t look now but the new guard has taken over leadership of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce.

From 33-year-old new Executive Director Cody Eckert to incoming 38-year-old president Andrew O’Hair to 42-year-old Citizen of the Year Karl Turk -- in an award that often goes to a senior citizen as more of a lifetime achievement honor -- it was evident Saturday night that a younger group has taken the reins of the local business group.

The Chamber Annual Dinner, a casualty of Covid the past two years, unfolded at the new Tiger Pointe events center, another recent part of the new generation with Tiger Pointe having succeeded the old Windy Hill Country Club. About 200 people attended the dinner/fundraiser.

“It’s been a crazy couple of years for many of us,” O’Hair said, opening his remarks, “the way everything in our lives has changed.

“We’ve been two years working from home in jeans and a T-shirt. We don’t deliver insurance quotes any more, we email them.”

With the world getting smaller and more competition coming from the outside, buying local is more important than ever, O’Hair stressed in rekindling a recent Chamber of Commerce theme.

The new president pointed to Carvana and the ability to “go to a vending machine and buy a car.” Insurance is getting much the same was, he said, with Geico and others hammering away, but insurance agent O’Hair assured a local agent has to be accountable when he “sees people at Walmart or at the baseball diamond.”

“We are blessed in this town,” O’Hair continued noting how longstanding and new local restaurants have survived the pandemic.

“I can’t imagine what it’s been like to run a restaurant the last couple of years. I remember when I first started on the Chamber, everybody wanted an Applebee’s to come to Greencastle. Why? We have a wide range of local restaurants.”

O’Hair also noted the employment predicament not only in Greencastle, but all over the country.

“Everybody needs people,” he said, noting that the Chamber’s online job portal can be a valuable resource for employment needs.

“Social media has not been our focus. We can do better,” O’Hair said, admitting it’s not something he does much with himself. “You have to do it now. We know that change is going to come.”

And more change is already here as new Chamber Executive Director Eckert, where hiring date came just five days before the annual meeting, briefly addressed the gathering.

“Personally it’s an honor for me to have this position,” Eckert said. “We have an incredible group of people to work with. The Chamber deserves the best promotion it can get to be the best county in Indiana to do business.”

In other business at the annual dinner, attendees:

-- Heard Williams praise out-going Chamber directors Vince Aguirre of District Web Design; Alison Beauchamp of Black Lumber; and Mac Shuee of Shuee and Sons.

-- Learned that new board members are Travis Wegren of the Tenzer Family Office; Megan Wager of Teachers Credit Union; and Neysa Meyer of the Putnam County Community Foundation.

-- Saluted returning board members and officers Laurie Hardwick, City of Greencastle, vice president; Beau Battin (in his 17th year of assisting the Chamber in some capacity), Scorpion Protective Coatings, secretary/treasurer; Brooke Trissel, Putnam County Hospital; LT Taylor, Taylor Made; Clint Cooper, Carpenter Realtors; Joel Bottom, DePauw University; Kathy Morgan, Endeavor Communications; and Kristin Clary, Greencastle/Putnam County Economic Development.