Leslie Hamrick comes to the South Fulton Chamber of Commerce by way of Michigan, California and North Carolina. And as the chamber’s new President and CEO, Hamrick draws on the knowledge gained in chamber efforts around America and her experience with a family-owned business to help take South Fulton into a successful future.

Hamrick moved to the Atlanta area in January, having served as the CEO for chambers in Charlotte, Michigan and in Tracy and Santa Fe Springs, California and as Vice President for Leadership Development at the Greensboro, North Carolina chamber. She has provided consulting for other chambers and, in 1999, was the recipient of the William E. Hammond Award by Western Association of Chamber Executives. Yet all her subsequent professional interest had its beginnings in childhood.

When she was 10 years old, Hamrick’s parents purchased a small campground business in Ohio. At about age 17, the family business suffered dramatically due to passage of new sign regulations.

“That experience made me realize that as a small business we couldn’t have successfully fought those regulations. I realized that we needed a voice at the legislative level,” Hamrick explained. “The chamber is the liaison between business and government. It provides the opportunity to understand the issues facing business and to be more effective at influencing legislation.”

That outlook is something Hamrick expressed while participating in the candidate selection process earlier this year.

“For a 14-year chamber professional, South Fulton offers an exceptional opportunity to assist with economic development, legislative advocacy and other key initiatives as directed by the board to meet the chamber’s membership and the business community’s needs,” Hamrick said.

In a conversation earlier this week at the South Fulton Chamber offices in Union City, Hamrick shared her thoughts on both the chamber’s mission and her own. An easily discernible part of her professional mission is one that pairs significant experience and a passion for the work.

“Having lived all over the country I believe I bring a broad perspective to the issues we face. I have a lot of experience with issues related to community growth and the arguments related to that growth, arguments pro and con. What works best, in terms of community growth, is planned, positive growth” she said, tying current growth in South Fulton to her professional mission. “And part of my role here is to offer the guidance to make business more successful by getting people to work more closely together and keeping them engaged with the realities of ownership. The chamber is a growth tool. And that can translate into successes with businesses and with their employees, creating many opportunities on many levels.”

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