Darrell St. John has only been the Brookneal Chamber of Commerce president since May. With a one-year term, he has a lot on his agenda.
Since taking the position, the newly appointed president has begun making strides to reach out to businesses in town.
“We have several things that we are going to do to promote business this year that may or may not be familiar,” he said.
St. John started as a chamber member representing Foster Fuels in April 2011.
“Foster Fuels was approached by a chamber member and asked to renew their membership and to help sponsor the 2011 Wine Festival. It was at that point that I was asked to represent Foster Fuels and become active with the Brookneal chamber,” St. John said.
The 37-year-old president resides in Gladys with wife Julie and their two sons Joseph, 8, and Ethan, 5.
He has lived in the Brookneal and Lynchburg areas all of his life and has built strong ties to the community.
St. John currently works for Foster Fuels as the IT system/network administrator. He has been employed there since 2009.
“I enjoy working and being involved in many community activities, which include being a member of Brookneal Baptist Church for 20 years, and, at this time, I am an assistant Sunday school teacher and choir member,” he said.
St. John has been a Loyal Order of Moose – Brookneal Moose Lodge #1507 member since 2002 and has been on the board since 2003. He is currently the treasurer.
He is also actively involved in the town’s youth. He serves as a den leader of Brookneal Cub Scout Pack #517 and was a T-ball manager and minor league coach this past season with the Brookneal Dixie Youth Baseball League.
“Let’s just say I have a very busy life right now and that I have been blessed,” St. John said.
When it comes to his vision for the future of the Brookneal Chamber of Commerce, St. John wants to promote the town’s diverse pool of businesses.
“I will work with other organizations to achieve a common goal of making Brookneal, Va., a great location for future businesses to locate or establish,” he said.
One thing St. John has been working on is BrooknealChamber.com, a newly designed website for the chamber. All members will have a listing and contact information, and there will be links to email and other websites.
“We are also developing a social media policy in which we hope to establish a Brookneal Chamber Facebook page to also promote local events and businesses,” he said.
Another plan St. John has had a hand in developing is the sponsorship of a quarterly business networking social to showcase local businesses. The first one is planned for August or September and will be hosted by Foster Fuels.
With these socials, the chamber is looking at awarding a Business of the Month/Quarter Award, which will give the recognized business a plaque to hang and promotion on the Brookneal chamber website for the month/quarter.
“We are also looking to host informative sessions on all aspects of small business from marketing to insurance and anything in between,” St. John said.
As chamber president, St. John’s duties include presiding over all Brookneal Chamber of Commerce meetings, which are held in the town of Brookneal offices on Main Street every last Tuesday of each month.
The president is a non-voting member, unless a tie is recorded. The president also appoints committee members for chamber functions.
“I have held leadership roles in several local organizations and have a strong desire to see this area develop and to cultivate and promote small businesses,” he said.
St. John believes there are changes that can be made in the area. He also feels the chamber can help with these changes by two simple things – prayer and support.
“Prayer each day for direction and guidance (among other things). Pray for our community because God has a way of fulfilling prayer to his faithful followers,” he said.
“Support is the word that best describes how I feel that Brookneal can move forward. Support our local government leaders, support our local businesses, support our local organizations, support our communities and support each other. We are a small community with struggles that are plaguing many areas of this country. If we work together to support and promote business, from sponsoring an event to lending a hand when asked, this community can do extraordinary things.”
According to its mission statement, “the Brookneal Chamber of Commerce is organized to promote business activity, growth and economic development in Brookneal and the surrounding areas, including Campbell, Charlotte and Halifax counties. Brookneal Chamber of Commerce will strive to work compatibly with any business, commercial or civic entity, including those outside the surrounding area, which upholds the purposes of the chamber.”
To become a chamber member, any local business can fill out an application and pay yearly membership dues. These dues are based on the number of employees that a business employs. For large businesses that have policies against joining local chambers, an individual can also join the chamber as an associate member with nominal dues.
As of June 30, the chamber had 43 members.
In addition to St. John, board members include, Dr. Bill Jones, vice president; Joe Lunsford, treasurer; Laura Shepherd, secretary; Paul Anctil; Laverne Canada; Bobbie Waller and Diane Barksdale.
Individuals or businesses can join the Brookneal chamber on its website at www.brooknealchamber.com, via email at [email protected] or by asking any current Brookneal Chamber of Commerce member. Applications are also available online for download by going to the contact us/join tab of the website.