Chairman Of The Board : Mark N. Eagan, CCE
President & CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
Mark Eagan is president and CEO of The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County. Prior to joining the South Bend-based Chamber in 1998, Eagan held the executive post of the Tri-Town Chamber in Mansfield, Mass from 1987 to 1990 and for the next eight years served as president of the Metro South Chamber of Commerce in Brockton, Mass.
Mark is a Certified Chamber Executive. He holds a Bachelors degree in Corporate Communication and Business Administration from Stonehill College and earned a Certificate in Executive Management from the University of Notre Dame. He is also a graduate of the six-year Institute for Organization Management program at the University of Delaware.
Mark is a past president of the Massachusetts Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and served a president-elect of the New England Executives Association. He is a past chairman of the Delaware Institute Board of Regents and serves on Institute's national faculty. In 1996, the New England Chamber Association named him Chamber Executive of the Year. He currently serves as a director of the Indiana Commerce Executives Association and serves on the Board of American Chamber of Commerce Executives where he serves as chairman of its Certification Commission.
Mark and his wife, Kristine, are the parents of Ryan and Jenna Eagan.
Telephone: 574/234-0051
E-mail: eagan@sjchamber.org
Past Chair: Phil Penn,
President of the Greater Elkhart Chamber
Philip E. Penn began his Chamber work as a volunteer in various capacities starting in 1967 through 1999. During 1998 and '99, he was serving on the Board of Directors and in the process of retiring from a 33-year career with a company in the road construction industry. Retirement was quickly dismissed when the excitement of Chamber and community leadership took hold. Phil joined the professional Chamber ranks in January 2000 when the Board of Directors hired him as the President of the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber and community have attained numerous successes and progress attributed to Phil's excellent leadership skills, high integrity, vast business knowledge and his ability to build partnerships with other entities.
Other organization and community involvement include: ICEA Board, Elkhart Centre Board, 2010 Coalition, U.S. 31 Coalition, Past President and member of the Elkhart Lions Club, City-County Advisory Council, United Way Board, Boy Scouts of America, Elkhart Municipal Band, The Brass Menagerie Quintet and others. He has also been recognized with several distinguished service awards by service clubs and community organizations.
Telephone: 574/293-1531
E-mail: ppenn@elkhart.org
Vice President of Professional Development: Matt Meadors, President/CEO of the Southwest Indiana Chamber of Commerce
Matt Meadors is the President and CEO of the Southwest Indiana Chamber of Commerce. He has more than 17 years of experience in association management.
Meadors received a BS Degree in Public Affairs from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He completed a nationally recognized course of study in Chamber of Commerce Management through the Institutes for Organization Management and the US Chamber of Commerce. He has presented at state and national conferences and served as part of an international economic development team charged with helping the nation of Romania modernize its economy.
Meadors resides in Evansville with his wife, Kim, and daughters, Meagan and Lindsay.
Telephone: 812/425-8147
E-mail: mmeadors@evansvillechamber.com
Vice Chair Financial & Organizational Division: Patricia Hatcher, Executive Director of the Columbia City Area Chamber of Commerce
Pat has been in Chamber work since 1995 at Columbia City Indiana. In her time as director at Columbia City she has been involved in growing the chamber from 167 members to current 277 members. Under her direction the volunteer base has strengthened to over 100 volunteers serving 14 committees. Pat's duties include: strategic planning, workforce development, economic development, and community planning. Pat also focuses efforts on growth and retention, fiscal management, administration, communication, and reporting.
Pat attended Indiana State University and My Lady Beauty Academy. She has extended management classes in finance and bookkeeping and graduate from Institute at Notre Dame in 2001.
Pat has four children and five grandchildren. She is active in her church and choir ministry.
Telephone: 260/248-8131
E-mail: phatcher@columbiacitychamber.org
Vice Chair of Conferences: Christy Gillenwater, President & CEO of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
Christy Gillenwater re-joined the Bloomington community on September 6, 2005 as the President and C.E.O. of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining the Bloomington Chamber, Christy served as the Vice President of Technology Advancement for the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance (Vision 2006). This encompassed overseeing the Vision 2006 Community Technology Initiative's strategies and programs. Christy joined Vision 2006 after spending three years as the Director of External Affairs for SBC. In her role with SBC, Christy worked with nine counties in East Central and Central Indiana and served on the board of directors for several chamber and economic development organizations. Prior to joining SBC, Steele was the Director of Community and Government Relations for the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and from 1996 through 1998 she was President of the Greater Greenfield Chamber of Commerce.
Christy was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University in 1996 and acquired a Master of Business Administration from Ball State University in 2003.
She is a graduate of the following programs: Institute for Organizational Management (chamber of commerce/association management training); Economic Development Institute (economic development professional training); Indiana Economic Development Academy; Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series (1999-2000 class); Leadership Hancock County (class of 1998); Leadership Academy for Madison County (2001-2002 class).
Christy enjoys traveling, boating, running, skiing and spending time with friends and family. She is also known to indulge in reading classic literature and suspense novels.
Christy is involved in the following organizations: Member of the Indiana Youth Institute Board of Directors; Member of the Indiana Chamber Executives Association Board of Directors; Member of the Bloomington Economic Development Board of Directors; Member of the United Way of Monroe County’s Board of Directors; Member of Downtown Bloomington, Inc. Board of Directors; Member of Rotary; Member of the the City’s Greenway Corridor Project Committee; Member of the IU Bloomington Continuing Studies Community Advisory Committee; Member of the WTIU Community Advisory Board; Member of the Growing Crane Committee; Member of the Certified Technology Park Advisory Committee for the City of Bloomington.
Telephone: 812/336-6381
E-mail: cgillenwater@chamberbloomington.org
Vice Chair Of Membership: Bill Bailey,
President of the
Seymour Area Chamber of Commerce
Bill is a graduate of Murray State University with degrees in English and Speech. A former high school teacher and tennis coach, he served as a member of the Seymour City Council from 1976-1980. From 1983-1990 he served two terms as Mayor of Seymour, and from 1990-2000 he served in the Indiana House of Representatives. While in the legislature he served as Chair of the Local Government Committee, Chair of the Public Policy Committee and as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He is married with two children and two grandchildren. His outside interests include sailing, which he describes as his passion, and good books, music and dining. He assumed the position of President of the Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce in 2000. He is a graduate of the inaugural class of the ICEA's Hoosier Chamber Academy.
Telephone: 812/522-3681
chamberpres@broadreach.net
Board Members:
G. Roderick Henry, CCE
President & CEO of the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce
Rod Henry was appointed President/CEO of the Greater Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce in July, 1990. He had previously served as President/CEO of Chambers of Commerce in Cocoa Beach, Florida; Anderson, Indiana; and Lancaster-Fairfield County, Ohio. Rod also served as the Assistant to the Majority Whip and the Indiana House of Representatives Committee on Governmental Reorganization during the 1976 Session of the Indiana General Assembly. This position gave Rod the entry to the chamber of commerce profession and soon after the conclusion of the 1976 Session, he became the Governmental Affairs Director for the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce. A native Hoosier, Rod graduated from Indiana University in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs. He also graduated from the Chamber of Commerce of the United States "Institute of Organization Management" and the "Academy of Organization Management". Rod also successfully completed the Basic Economic Development Course sponsored by the American Economic Development Council and Ohio State University. In 1989, Rod was awarded the "Certified Chamber Executive" designation by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Association. He is past president of the Indiana Commerce Executive Association and has served on the Board of Directors of the State Chamber of Commerce Executives Association and has served on the Board of Directors of the State Chamber of Commerce Executives Association in Indiana and Ohio. Rod's family includes his wife, Benita an intermediate elementary teacher in Terre Haute, and his two grown children, Rick and Katie.
Telephone: 812/232-2391
E-mail: rhenry@terrehautechamber.com
Joy McCarthy-Sessing, President of the Warsaw-Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce
Telephone: 574/267-6311
E-mail: jmccarthy-sessing@wkchamber.com
Mo Merhoff, President of the Carmel-Clay Chamber of Commerce
Mo Merhoff is current President of the Carmel Clay Chamber of Commerce, a member-driven business organization in the midst of one of the fastest-growing counties on the country. Prior to joining the chamber in 2000, Mo spent 12 years with the United States Rowing Association, including the directorship of the 1994 World Rowing Championships in Indianapolis and membership on the FISA (international rowing federation) Marketing and Media Commission for the sport for 10 years. She received the FISA Medal of Honor in 1994.
Mo served as an Olympic Press Officer at three Olympics Games and five World Rowing Championships; is a member of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce Education and Business Action Committees; serves on the United Way of Hamilton County Executive Committee and Solutions Council, on the Carmel Clay Library Foundation Board, and the Carmel Symphony Orchestra Marketing Committee.
Mo graduated from Fond du Lac High School in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and with distinction and Phi Beta Kappa from Purdue University. She received her Master’s Degree, also from Purdue, where she was a graduate teaching fellow. In addition, she attended The Fund Raising School in Indianapolis and executive sessions at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Born in Chicago, Mo spent enough time growing up in Wisconsin to become a major football fan. She lives in Carmel with her husband, cats and dogs, and enjoys horseback riding, playing bad golf and debating politics.
Telephone: 317/846-1049 E-mail: mm@carmelchamber.com
Mike Seitz, President of the Greater LaPorte Chamber Michael B. Seitz has over 12 years of Chamber experience serving as Vice President of Existing Business Development and Membership Services for the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce and as President of the Logansport Chamber of Commerce. Mike holds an undergraduate degree in Public Administration from Indiana University and has graduated from the United States Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management program. Mike also completed the first year of the Certified Economic Developers program at the University of Kentucky. Mike is responsible for the full range of Chamber and Foundation activities.
Telephone: 219/362-3178
E-mail: E-mail: seitz@lpchamber.com
Vince Griffin, VP Environmental & Energy Policy for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce
Telephone: 317/ 264-6881
(e-mail) vgriffin@indianachamber.com
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