CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce — with 600 business, civic and community leaders as members — is integral to North Okaloosa County’s economic, social and cultural life.
Valerie Lott, the chamber's new president and chief executive officer, intends to strengthen the organization's relationships with members to better serve the community.
Her goals include:
●Taking the chamber “back to its roots” with an increased focus on the region’s small businesses.
“The majority of our membership is small business,” Lott said. “We rank our members by how many employees they have, and the majority are ranked with one to five employees. They’re the ones who can’t get out to chamber events because they’re the ones running the store.
"The (chamber) board is really brainstorming ways we can reach them and work for them.”
●Forging closer ties with regional government to increase the Crestview area’s economic diversity and strength. Toward that goal, Lott is a board member of the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council.
●Extending the chamber’s internship program through the Crestview Area Sister City's partnership with the University of Nantes. The French college has brought several business and communications students to Crestview in past years.
Longtime chamber members said they are enthused about Lott’s plans for the organization.
“Valerie has done an excellent job of running the day-to-day operations of the chamber of commerce for the past six years (as office manager),” chamber board Chairman Marian McBryde and past chairman Alicia Booker said in a joint statement.
“I’m looking forward to working with her on a new level,” McBryde said.
Lott’s advancement follows the resignation of Wayne Harris, who helmed the organization 15 years. The Okaloosa County commissioner left the chamber earlier this year to concentrate on his campaign for state representative.
Chamber members can rest assured the organization is in good hands, Lott said.
“I was raised here. I’m originally from here and I graduated from Crestview High School,” she said. “Mayor (David) Cadle was my next-door neighbor growing up. My roots are here. All my family’s here.
“This is my hometown; it’s my passion. What we’re doing is not for the success of me, or the success of the chamber, it’s for the success of the community.”
Former Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce office manager Valerie Lott has been appointed the organization’s president and CEO.
Family: Husband Derek Lott, city president, CCB Bank; three children, Aubrey Merritt, 19, a Crestview High School graduate now at Northwest Florida State College; Evan Merritt, 14, a Crestview High School freshman; and Maddie Lamb-Lott, 9, a Riverside Elementary School student
Education: Crestview High School graduate; associate of arts in business, Pensacola Junior College and Southwest Georgia College; licensed practical nursing degree, Lurleen B. Wallace Community College.
MEET VALERIE LOTT
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New Crestview chamber president shares plans to strengthen community