Chamber leader signs off

Mary Hodge lives multi-tasking.

As the only full-time employee of the Maitland Area Chamber of Commerce and its 300 members, she can’t operate any other way.

She’s a manager, a marketing representative, an accountant, a human resources director, a publisher, a webmaster and an event planner, just to name a few. She’s used to working 15-hour days. She even takes calls on her home phone from members in crisis or those wanting to chat about the latest Maitland gossip.

“I’m not sure when I became the mother of the world,” Hodge says proudly from the conference room of the small Chamber, a converted 1930s house. “Being such a close-knit group, people feel comfortable talking to you … It’s more than just business.”

Hodge is leaving the executive director post she’s held for 11 years. The position has worn on her and she’s looking forward to a long-overdue respite and being able to spend time with her children and grandchildren. Then, she says, she’ll resurface somewhere, likely in the beloved city in which she’s lived and volunteered for the last 41 years.

“It’s made it very difficult because of the commitment I’ve made to the members to know when would be a good time for me to leave and allow someone else the opportunity to carry on some really good work here,” she said.

“Fifteen-hour days are too long for me. Sometimes it’s seven days a week, and I felt I would know (when to leave), and this year’s been it.”

There will be a celebration in her honor on April 6 at the Germaine Marvel Building.

Search for new director

Hodge has agreed to stay on until the Chamber Board finds a replacement, then she’ll become a consultant to get the new leader up to speed. Chamber President Denise Beumer said the Board has not met yet to discuss the executive search.

Hodge and Beumer both agree that it would be beneficial for the new leader to already be invested in the Maitland community.

“We would like to stay local,” said Beumer, vice president of BB&T’s Maitland office. “We don’t want to limit our options, but we feel that local would be nice.”

Hodge said, “I hope the Board will continue that tradition of making members first and finding someone who will be a good steward of the funds that come to us.”

Under her direction

Since taking the helm of the Chamber 11 years ago, Hodge has turned the organization around financially, grown its two community events — the Spring Festival of the Arts (coming up on April 15-17) and the Taste of Maitland — and initiated programs such as the Business After Hours and Women & Wisdom.

The Chamber has lost several large corporate sponsors as the economy has constricted, but thanks to Hodge, it has a parachute. “For the first time in Chamber history, we have reserve accounts,” she said.

There have been other successes that can’t be quantified, such as the relationships she’s forged within the business community.

“She is the reason I am involved with the Chamber,” two-time President Beumer said. “She got me involved and kept me there.”

Touching lives

Sonny Eubanks, an agent at Wekiva Insurance Agency and insurer of the art festival, said Hodge is so good at what she does that the Chamber might lose members when she leaves.

“She goes out of her way to do a lot of things for everybody,” he said. “She represents Maitland to me. … Business doesn’t just come to you because you’re a Chamber member and they put you in a little book.”

Hodge was responsible for bringing the Performing Arts of Maitland to the art festival for the first time last year, and the musicians will be back this year, PAM president Jeff Flowers said. “She had a vision to try a new thing and be welcoming of ideas, and that epitomizes her approach. She always had the best of Maitland’s heart in mind and has been able to execute it.”

Pamela Costa, president of Word of Mouth Networking, said business at her sales training firm increased 80 percent once she met Hodge and got involved in Chamber events. “She’s an ace in the hole,” she said. “She made the Chamber what it is.”

Lynn Threlkeld, realtor with Keller-Williams Heritage Realty, agreed. “She extends herself to every single member of the Chamber. … She really connects people.”

The good and bad

While Hodge helped many businesses to thrive, there were some that she couldn’t save. It broke her heart every time, she said. Café Marty, a restaurant that was tucked in an office park on Keller Road, was a prime example.

“We were constantly bringing guests to his restaurant and doing little extras to bring the visibility that he needed … He was just in an area that was not conducive to bringing new faces in,” Hodge said.

Hodge was able to help First Colony Bank, Maitland’s only hometown community bank, facilitate a move from their modular building to a new three-story facility at the Northbridge Office Centre, also the planned location of Maitland’s SunRail station.

“She was right there to help us plan that,” First Colony President and CEO Bruce May said. “Maitland is a hometown community, and she approached the Chamber in the same manner. … These will be hard shoes to fill.”

The future Chamber

As Hodge prepares to hand the organization off to her successor, she said she hopes that one day the Chamber will have a full staff. She says the rule of thumb is that for every 100 members, there should be one full-time staffer.

“With 300 members and one employee — that’s not exactly a good ratio right now,” she said.

Chamber President Beumer said that as the city grows with new projects, such as the Town Center, she hopes the Chamber will grow with it. “I would like to see it grow, but only grow to keep up with the community.”

Hodge also hopes that in the future, the weathered Chamber facility, located precariously next to the railroad tracks, will be replaced with a new one.

Right now, she’s thrilled with Maitland Mayor Howard Schieferdecker’s push to install a new façade for the building using volunteer dollars. In October, Administrative Assistant Pat Williamson spoke before the City Council about the building’s cracked ceiling, caved-in roof and dead bushes and trees. Builder Lamm & Company Partners and ACi architects have partnered for the façade project.

The Chamber was slated to be within the new city hall set to begin construction this year, but the Commission cut that piece out because of shrinking dollars.

“The numbers there got smaller and smaller, and they took square footage out,” Hodge said. “It could have been a good marriage with us being their welcome center, but I understand it’s all about the bottom line. And they’re all bleeding too.”

As the organization changes and matures, Chamber members hope it won’t lose the personal touch that Hodge worked so hard to establish.

“She took her job seriously and extremely to heart,” Costa said. “It won’t be the same, it just won’t.”

Learn more

Celebrate! The Maitland Chamber of Commerce will celebrate outgoing Executive Director Mary Hodge from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at the Germaine Marvel Community Building.