First 30 Days: Tricia Rogers, ARCC’s New President & CEO
The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce has a new leader, and she hopes to continue to be a voice for local businesses in the community.
Tricia Rogers took over as President and CEO of the ARCC in August, and recently discussed her first month on the job with Mike Nelson of Glens Falls Today’s ‘Five Minutes With…’ program.
“First of all, I can’t believe it’s been 30 days already,” Rogers said. “The time is completely flying by. … I feel so lucky to lead the organization in a community that I love and am so passionate about.”
Rogers has worked in a membership role for five years at ARCC, and said that in addition to her new duties, she will continue to fill the role while the hiring process continues.
“I’m still in the membership role as of today, since we are actively hiring for my old job,” said Rogers. “It’s been a duality here, because obviously bringing members in is what keeps us going, and now learning the role of President and CEO.”
The ARCC’s new CEO said that for the remainder of 2022, the focus will be on “what we’re strategically going to plan for 2023.”
“I think through the end of this year, we want to continue to get in front of elected officials, continue to work with our members on advocacy or what their needs are,” Rogers said. “Our mission is to serve our membership, so as things pop up, we want to make sure that we’re available.”
On the topic of membership, Rogers also stressed the goal of reaching out to all ARCC members and remaining approachable and accessible.
“I want to reach out to our membership individually,” Rogers said. “That’s a goal of mine which will take a lot of time, but I think it’s important that they understand who we are, what we represent, what we’re doing, how accessible we are, and that as this great community, we are here to help.”
The CEO stressed that the ARCC is 100% member-funded, and that their goal is to “serve this business community.”
“If you were to reach out to myself or any of my team, we will get back to you,” said Rogers. “We invite people in to see us. Come up to us at events. … There’s something special about this organization, and we are here. I promise you, we’re the four most passionate people you’ll ever meet. We will make sure that your questions are answered, and that we’re really excited to be here and make the connections, and lead this community.”
And as the year begins to reach its final months, Rogers said the ARCC “is in a great place, currently.”
“We have a solid membership, we have a great group of leadership circle members, we have great events that we are putting on annually,” Rogers said. “We’re coming off a challenging time with COVID, and we, as an organization, couldn’t be in a better place. So that’s exciting.”
The ARCC has sprung off numerous councils and committees, with Rogers naming the Veterans Business Network, the Women’s Business Council, the Workplace Health and Wellness Council, and the Adirondack Nonprofit Business Council.
Rogers noted that “this is all in addition to our monthly mixers and our lunch and learns,” saying the organization wants to “continue on that path,” in addition to representing the small business community.
“We want to make sure that we are a voice for our small business community,” said Rogers. “So if there’s any issues out there that we need to be aware of, we always encourage our members to reach out to us, and we certainly guide and help the best that we can.”
The ARCC will look to bring in new events during 2023, Rogers mentioned, in addition to numerous plans for the remainder of this year.
“We have a solid September-October,” Rogers said. “We have a solid two months of great events coming up. I encourage everyone to check our website, check out the events. If you have any questions, give us a call. We’re happy to talk you through it.”