When Emerson began looking at the qualifications in the chamber job description a decade ago when she and her husband moved to Paulding, Ohio, a light bulb when off in her head.
“I looked over the set of skills and I thought, ‘Wait a minute, this is a set of skills that I have,” Emerson said.
“I looked it over and I said, ‘This is me; this is me. I love it because it changes constantly.”
The 1982 Hamilton High School graduate had been a small business owner. She had worked in government, including Hamilton and Allen County (Lima). And she has been employed by large and small companies, including the former Schroder Manor.
She applied, got the job at the Paulding Area Chamber of Commerce (about a hour southwest of Toledo), stayed there for three years, went on to lead the Darke County Chamber of Commerce for two years, and became the president and chief executive officer of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce two years ago.
“A lot of people in the chamber world follow a path that brings them to the chamber,” Emerson said.
“I don’t know that I ever set out to say I want to work the chamber of commerce although I was certain aware of chambers of commerce.”
A Miami University graduate with a degree in English education, Emerson said she loves her job and couldn’t do it without her staff, office manager Kristin Bramblett and Sara Hickman, membership care coordinator.
With 350 members, the chamber’s main focus is on businesses in Fairfield and Fairfield Twp. and their needs — whether it be training, seminars, networking, hosting career fests for students, job development and creation.
Emerson said she enjoys the variety in her work as well as the diversity in the community and businesses. She said Fairfield is now the most diverse community in Butler County.
“It is something different all the time, and I love that. I like I can be part of positive change in a community. It gives me a voice for our businesses. I love that.”
She jokes that when she was interviewing for the job, she told the chamber board she didn’t plan to change much the first year or two while getting to know the businesses and their needs.
Since then, they’ve moved locations, begun the Fairfield Focus program, digitized membership and event management, begun a networking program in Fairfield Twp., formalized the women networking program to monthly, and is expanding the board of directors.
Outside of the chamber, Emerson loves working in the community. She leads a Girl Scout brownie troop, adding, “I just love watching girls blossom and grow.”
She sits on the Fairfield Community Improvement Corp., will be the Fairfield Rotary Club’s president next year, plans to join the board of the Butler Philharmonic Orchestra.
About Peggy Emerson
- Lives on Hamilton’s West Side with husband, Roger, pastor of Park Avenue United Methodist Church
- Is a mother to three grown children and has two grandchildren
- Created the booklet for the Gateway sculpture in front of the Government Services building in downtown Hamilton when it opened in 2000; designed shirts for Dam Fest.
- Loves being in or near creeks. “I’m rarely happier than when I’m in a creek. I spent so much of my childhood in the two-mile creek that runs through Brookwood and Twinbrook. I loved it when I got to do things in the soil and water that got me into a creek.”
- Uses the geocaching app to search for hidden items in the region with husband Roger. “I’m still trying to find the cache in Veterans Park.”
Diversity: “Nothing makes me more excited than when I see a first-generation person, new to this country, who walks over and puts that Fairfield Chamber of Commerce sticker in the window of their business – and the pride and excitement that we all feel when that happens.”
LEADING LADIES OF BUTLER COUNTY
This is part of a series of stories featuring women in Butler County who shape their communities. These stories will feature women who are leading small, medium and large businesses, institutions, and organizations.
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