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Justin Starlin, President of the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce in Ohio is our guest for this episode in our series of 2019 Chamber of the Year Finalists. Justin comes from a background in Economic and Community Development which is a great fit for the Wooster area. Wooster is a strong manufacturing community with national brands like Daisy, Gojo Industries, and Smuckers nearby.
Because of the strong manufacturing influence in the Wooster area, the Chamber promotes a Manufacturing Day each year to build awareness of the local manufacturing industry to high school students and the opportunity for employment. Last year (2018) this Manufacturing Day event brought out 700 students from 13 school districts to visit 18 manufacturing partners.
The Wooster Area Chamber takes pride in being unique in how they do things so they can stay fresh and show their value to the community. One way the Chamber does this is through a monthly newsletter. Many Chambers produce a newsletter, but the Wooster Chamber produces a 16-page newsletter each month and mails it out 23,000 copies to members and non-member businesses alike as well as to residents. Doing this helps to educate the community on the impact the Chamber has in the community, upcoming events, and it continues to build the Chamber’s brand. The Chamber also utilizes social media but they are cautious to not abuse that form of communication. Between the printed newsletter and the social media impressions, they are able to provide great value to for their sponsorships.
In the vein of being unconventional, the Wooster Chamber has an annual dinner…with a twist. Last year, they utilized an iconic building in their community which was the former Rubbermaid headquarters to host their annual dinner. This facility is the new home to Gojo Industries (makers of Purell) so those who attended the dinner were able to see the facility. Wooster has a population of about 28,000 people and there were 960 people at this dinner!
The Wooster Chamber also hosts and Octoberfest which they call Woosterfest in their downtown area. In an effort to attract a younger crowd, they brought in new vendors with craft beers and they introduced Wiener Dog Races! You can see what this looks like below.
Please visit woosterchamber.com to connect with Justin Starlin or to learn more about the Wooster Area Chamber.
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