Murray Chamber of Commerce president seeks to bridge 'divide' with leadership program
Brady Hix, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
5 min read
Dec. 21—Although the Conasauga River winds its way between Whitfield and Murray counties, creating a clear "divide," Murray County Chamber of Commerce President Barry Gentry said that division does not apply to the chamber's Leadership Murray program.
"We don't see the river as being the great divide anymore," Gentry said. "We believe that if Murray wins, Whitfield wins, Gordon (County) wins and Catoosa (County) wins. We've got to be in this together as far as workforce development is concerned."
As far back as the 1970s, Gentry said, Leadership Murray has allowed "business leaders that are new to Murray (County) or new to a company based in Murray," along with Murray chamber staff, the opportunity to become more connected with the community they serve.
According to the Murray chamber website, the program "has provided hundreds of individuals the opportunity to cultivate community knowledge, develop personal leadership skills and network with individuals across multiple sectors in our area."
"It's a 10-month program and you have to register for the program because it is a commitment," Gentry said. "You have to be invested."
Part of erasing that idea of a divide between counties, Gentry said, involves working closely with businesses outside of the Murray chamber's immediate area.
"In Leadership Murray, we have (leaders) everywhere from AdventHealth and Hamilton (Health Care System) to North Georgia EMC and the Murray County Rec(reation) Department," he said. "It's all over the gamut. We also have (individuals) from the Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority."
Gentry said most chambers around the nation have a leadership program that is operated specific to their area, including the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Dalton-Whitfield program, which kicked off its 39th year this past June.
"These are respected programs throughout the nation," said Gentry. "For us, it is trying to help acclimate these leaders or extended staff of these employers to building relationships in the communities that they serve."
Jake Hager, who serves as the foundation director for AdventHealth's Georgia market and is a member of Leadership Murray's current program that began in August, said his experience has been engaging.
"It's been really great; I have enjoyed meeting different people from across the community and different industries, and learning more about the Murray community as a whole," Hager, who lives in Rome, said. "This past month, we had a great time learning more about the educational offerings within Murray County and the surrounding community."
Each month shines a dedicated spotlight on different sectors across Murray County.
"Which includes local government, state government, health and wellness, and others," said Gentry.
December marked the program's focus on education, which included a tour of Chatsworth Elementary School, North Murray High School, Murray County High School, Dalton State College and Georgia Northwestern Technical College during the program's Education Day.
"It's an annual staple that we visit our local area institutions of education, healthcare, local government and so on," Gentry said. "I go along and I learn something every year. No matter if you're from Murray County or not, you're going to learn more about the dynamics of the community."
Gentry said one of the program's annual trips involves a look into state government.
"We go down into Atlanta every (January) and we have Murray Night on the Hill," he said. "That's where the governor (Brian Kemp) and all of the legislators are invited to come and we tell them what great things are happening in Murray. It just keeps your community in the front of mind for decision-makers."
Hager said future months will feature looks at local government, tourism and recreation.
"I know that we will be touring the different administrative offices (in Murray County), meeting directly with the commissioner for Murray County and learning more about the different elected officials that represent the citizens of Chatsworth and Eton," Hager said.
Gentry the Murray chamber and Leadership Murray have seen other recent advancements within multiple sectors, including education.
"Our chamber has a workforce initiative called Murray Works, and we partner often with Georgia Northwestern (Technical College) because those jobs have a skilled focus like welding, laying floor materials, diesel mechanics and linemen," he said. "So, that is another way for the Leadership group, which has a class of about 20 (members) this year, to get an opportunity to champion these schools."
He said for some Murray County graduates, a college pathway may not be the ultimate goal.
"But they can make a decent quality of life living right here in the Murray area with jobs in one of those industries," he said. "There's some pretty impressive salaries you can make by being certified in one of those jobs."
Gentry said seeing more skilled Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) courses in Murray County schools in recent years has been tremendous.
"Way too often, in the past 10 years or so, those skilled jobs have been kind of overlooked and removed from school curriculum," he said. "That's why it's so refreshing to see, because there's such a demand for those skilled workers. It's awesome to see it be reintroduced or come out from under the radar because those jobs give students the opportunity to (earn) a pretty decent salary once they graduate, should they choose not to take the college route."
Hager said the Leadership Murray program assists communities in growing and prospering.
"It's very important for any leader in the community to understand the breadth of the offerings within that community," he said. "I think that the Leadership Murray program does a really good job of allowing people to understand who the key players are in the community, what work is being done, and to better comprehend all that is being currently offered in the community. We can't begin to address any type of additional needs or bring in additional services without understanding what's already being offered and really finding better ways to partner with what's being offered."
