The Homer Chamber of Commerce has a new Executive Director. Brad Anderson’s first day on the job was last Monday and he stopped by the KBBI studio to sit down with Christina Whiting.
Anderson and his family moved from California to Homer a year and a half ago, but the move was actually years in the making.
“My journey up here really started five years ago with a little family vacation on the Kenai River and then we came up the following year after meeting someone who had a house that was available for us to spend some time here in Homer for a week. We came here in July and had that magical July week in Homer that we just fell in love with and that started our path to coming up here,” said Anderson.
In his professional career, Anderson has been involved in sales, marketing and public relations, including coordinating special events and managing a radio station and a business journal.
“I love business to business relationships. Especially in the economic development side of things. That’s what I did with the business journal role and with the radio station I worked at. We did a lot of community events and were very involved in supporting the business community, so those are the pieces that I think can translate well into this position up here,” Anderson Said.
Having previously worked with a number of small businesses, he says he understands the particular challenges of running a business in Homer.
"If our halibut numbers get reduced up here, that impacts some of the charter businesses up here. We’ve all seen some of the salmon challenges with the King Salmon and the fires last year. Anything I can do to try to help support them and find ways to attract more businesses up here and establish a good solid economic base here for Homer," said Anderson.
With a background working in the private sector, Anderson says that he looks forward to learning the ins and outs of working in a nonprofit setting and he acknowledged the dedication of the chamber’s staff and board members.
"I’m coming into a situation where I’m not having to fix a lot of problems and that is a pleasure to come in and see. I’m also very lucky to be in a chamber that has one of the highest business participation rates in this state. The business community really does support this chamber," said Anderson.
With eyes focused towards the coming year, Anderson is eager to continue to move the chamber in a positive direction, providing good leadership and facing challenges as they arise.
"We discontinued the halibut derby, which is something we’ve had for I think 30 years. We’re shifting that to a halibut tournament which will be in the first part of June. And so we’re trying to figure out how to implement that effectively and a big part of that will come by what happens to the restrictions that come down as far as how our catch is going to be impacted with the annual limits, day closures," said Anderson.
The Homer Chamber of Commerce will kick off the new year with the Winter King Tournament in March, the Shorebird Festival in May, the Halibut Tournament in June, followed by the 4th of July Parade and the World Arts Festival in September. Eager to meet community members, Anderson invites everyone to stop by his office and say hello.
“If anyone wants to come in and chat a little bit and if I can offer any support and advise, I would love to continue working with them and like I said, I worked a lot with the small business communities and I totally understand where they’re coming from and what their needs are and anything I can do to support them, I would be more than happy to," Anderson said.
