Cook County Chamber adds member relations manager

Cook County Chamber Executive Director Jim Boyd sent out a press release this week announcing that the chamber has named Lisa Bauer to its new, part-time position of member relations manager.

“We are very fortunate to have Lisa join the Chamber team,” Boyd wrote “She is a thorough professional and will bring a high degree of dedication to this new position. She will provide critical help in ensuring the Chamber remains sustainable for the long term.”

Bauer is known to many Cook County residents as the executive director of Boreal Community Media, a position she will continue to hold. Bauer also served as the full-time technology coordinator for School District 166 for the past four years.

Boyd explained the need for a member relations manager, noting that since the chamber’s inception in 2013, the organization has been focused on public policy, locally, in St. Paul, and in Washington, D.C.

Boyd pointed to success in that work, writing, “We hired Judy Erickson of Conservation Strategies, Inc., to be our representative in St. Paul, and she has done outstanding work. With Judy acting as our point person, we have worked a number of partners, including Sen. Tom Bakk and Rep. Rob Ecklund, to secure funding for Cook County projects and to push for legislation that would advance a broad range of Cook County interests.”

Boyd said that work is ongoing and still very important, but he said things are changing.

“The Chamber, like every organization, must evolve, or it will become irrelevant,” Boyd said. “And that is where Lisa comes in. She will enable us to reach out to members, to promote membership with non-members and develop a more “social” side to the Chamber. The latter is difficult and time-consuming because our members are so spread out, from the end of the Gunflint Trail to Schroeder and Grand Portage. Plus, everyone is so incredibly busy from May through October. Lisa clearly will confront challenges in this work.”

Lisa said she is looking forward to the challenge. She said, “One of the things I love most about living and working in Cook County is the sense of community. I have enjoyed meeting so many business owners and individuals since moving here in 2017. I look forward to strengthening those relationships and building new ones in this new Chamber role.”

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence reached out to the new Chamber member relations manager to learn more.

Rhonda Silence June 17, 2021