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A Fresh Breeze from the North
Valley looks to central Mass. and finds new chamber prez
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Business New Haven
4/17/2000
By: BNH
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As you read this, William Purcell has just assumed the presidency of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce in Shelton, succeeding Jodi Ann LaFreniere. Chamber chairman Jeff Ramos said it took him 'two minutes' into his initial interview with Purcell to decide that 'This was clearly the guy for the job.' Since the early 1980s Purcell had been with the Worcester (Mass.) Area Chamber of Commerce - which touts itself as New England's largest chamber - most recently as executive vice president and head of its economic-development affiliate, the Worcester Business Development Corp. BNH spoke with Purcell before his first day on the job, which was April 17.
Did the Valley chamber find you, or did you find them?
I found them - and then they found me. We're part of a group called the American Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives [AACCE), and it was through one of their publications that I learned of this particular opportunity. It spoke to my strengths and my desire for change, and so the chamber leadership and I began the process six or eight weeks ago [of interviewing for the job]. It clearly was a match, and the rest is history.
What did you see as you made the rounds of the Valley? There are certainly differences in terms of prosperity and approaches to economic development among the various municipalities.
I see a lot of potential and a lot of promise for the entire region. I would credit the chamber and the public officials who have joined together in the Alliance for Economic Growth. This region does in fact see itself as a single economic unit, and promotes and positions itself as such. The challenge for us is to ensure that the prosperity is evenly shared throughout the region that we serve. We're certainly on the right course. That's an issue we have been dealing with in the Worcester area as well. There are pockets of significant development - the Westborough/Northborough [Mass.] area over the last 15 years has been an absolute marvel. Now we've been positioning the Blackstone Valley, along Rt. 146, for growth. I see a lot of parallels between Rt. 8 [in the Valley] and [Mass.] Rt. 146 and the potential that exists along these major transportation corridors. [The challenge] is positioning and preparing the individual communities for what we hope will be eventual build-out and economic growth.
What made you decide to leave Worcester after so long?
I'm a Worcester native, and I've had the pleasure of plying this wonderful trade of chamber of commerce management and related development - I also ran the Worcester Business Development Corp. for 18 years, and we had just a wonderful run developing a number of industrial parks. In many ways for me it was a process of reflection over the last six to eight months [that concluded] that it was time, both personally and professionally, for me to move on and seek a new challenge. I wanted to stay in the [chamber of commerce] professional, and I didn't want to go terribly far away. When you go through that exercise you realize what is truly most important to you. For me it was a combination of professional challenge of this community plus being reasonably close to family and friends. So this was perfect fit in that sense.
Is the Worcester chamber still dominated as it once was by large industrial companies?
Those days are gone. Across the country, chambers are so small business-driven today. Ninety percent of our members are small businesses, which we define as 50 employees or fewer. Small is beautiful - as long as big is around. There's been a tremendous paradigm shift in chambers across the country, and it's certainly true in the Worcester area.
I ask because that's a very different model from the Valley chamber, which is more small business-driven - notwithstanding the presence of a number of Fortune 500 firms, particularly in Shelton.
There are some large employers. And the challenge in any community is to bring some of those large or new players into the community, and the chamber is the logical mechanism to do that, to assimilate them fully into all aspects of community life.
Often big companies drive small ones out of chambers by hogging the agenda and dominating the committees.
I think we've largely changed that in Worcester. If you look at the composition of your board of directors, it needs to reflect the changing composition of your membership. For us it's women-owned enterprises, minority-owned enterprises, it's e-commerce companies. All the while recognizing that large employers continue to have a significant impact on the overall economy, both in terms of employment and tax base.
What's the secret to getting some of the bigger companies that might have relocated, say, to Shelton to become active participants in the Valley chamber and throw some of their weight behind the agenda?
I don't know, having not been on board yet. But in any community you have to actively reach out to the leadership of these companies and try to get them to focus locally at the same time they're focusing globally. That's the charge of any chamber organization across the country. But as I look I see that many of the large players are in fact on board [in the Valley chamber]. The chairman, Jeff Ramos, is treasurer of the Pitney-Bowes Credit Corp. - a large company - and he's leading by example.
What qualities or priorities did the search committee communicate to you about this job?
I think it's a continuation of the good work and building on the foundation that Jodi and her team laid. The five or six areas the leadership wants to continue to pursue include supporting a pro-business environment, continuing the expansion of the economic-development partnerships through the Alliance for Economic Growth, focusing on workforce development in a time of tight labor markets, continuing work on the transportation agenda, and above all else providing valuable services to the members of our organization. BNH
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