Romeoville Chamber Executive Director: 'I See Us Doubling in the Next Two Years."

Mari Edmondson had a special challenge on her hands when she took over the executive director position at the Romeoville Area Chamber of Commerce in November. She was taking over the chamber after it had been without an executive director for some time. But Edmondson saw that as an opportunity.
"It's been great," she said. "There's been so much here for me to try to get a hold of."
In the last five months, the chamber has added 27 new members and the number of luncheons have doubled as well. And it's not just the new members.
"Retention is higher than it's ever been," she said.
Currently, the Romeoville Area Chamber of Commerce has over 200 members, but Edmondson said with the number of potential members, she thinks the chamber could have more like 900 members.

“I really, honestly, it’s going to take a little bit longer yet, but I see us doubling in the next two years,” Edmondson said. “People will start to see what the benefit is to joining the chamber.”

Edmondson knows first hand what a chamber with a large membership looks like. She began her career in chambers of commerce in Texas, where she was initially an office manager. She worked her way up in the chamber that had seven people on staff and 2,000 members. Six years ago, she moved to Illinois and she worked with the Channahon-Minooka Chamber for 2 and a half years. She does prefer the larger chambers and is excited about the potential she sees in Romeoville.

When she isn’t planning events or discussing the benefits of chamber membership to a local business, Edmondson can be found doing her favorite unwind activity – crossword puzzles.

“I like to read, I love to read and I love to crossword puzzles,” she said. “I will do the crossword puzzle because it lets me unwind.”