After dedicating 32 years to the growth of the Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce, Jane Clark spent the summer making sure the handoff was smooth for her successor, Jodi Owczarski.
“It’s the best transition possible process, and Jodi’s fully ready to be in the driver’s seat,” Clark says of Owczarski, who has been with the Chamber since 2017. “I'm super proud of that. It’s made the transition so much easier on me, knowing that my successor is so awesome. And I think it's reassured the board of directors and the staff that things are in great shape and in great hands and so it's only going get better."
Her tenure ended Aug. 31, the end of the organization’s fiscal year.
A job opportunity for her husband, Robert, with Prince Corp. brought Clark to Holland. He had been recruited out of engineering school at Purdue University in Indiana. After she spent a three-year stint doing fundraising for the Grand Rapids Symphony, then-Chamber President Lou Hallacy hired her as membership director.
Career filled with achievements
“A person couldn't ask for a more fulfilling career with an organization,” says Clark, who served as Chamber president for 18 years.
During that time, the chamber earned a five-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, putting it in the top 1% chambers across the country.
Clark was also very active in the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Up until this summer, she was chair of the national trade association. In 2020, she was one of six chamber professionals nationally to earn the
Certified Chamber Executive designation.
A decade ago, she also oversaw the merger of the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce and Zeeland Chamber of Commerce into the Michigan West Coast Chamber.
“It’s just something I'm incredibly proud of, because it was about a three-year process to make it happen,” Clark says. “We worked very closely with the boards of directors and staff members of both organizations. In the end, the member vote to approve the merger was 98%. We had done so much of the important background work and collaboration that it became, again, a smooth, seamless merger once we implemented it, so I'm super proud of that.”
In 2015, the West Coast Chamber began operating under a system called the Entrepreneurial Operating System, or EOS.
“We were the first chamber in the country that did that,” Clark says, explaining that EOS is a methodical method of running a business. “Since then, many chambers have followed suit. It’s really allowed us to run the chamber more efficiently and more effectively – and, in a way, similar to the way our members run their own businesses.”
Responding to variety of needs
Clark says she is really proud of the way her small but mighty staff of six stepped up during the pandemic to serve the business community as covid restrictions brought many operations to a standstill.
“From the moment businesses were shut down, we were a sort of a trusted source of reliable information and resources for businesses throughout the community,” Clark says.
The chamber’s mission is to serve businesses of all sizes.
“The Chamber of Commerce is here for everyone, from somebody who's just starting out with a home-based business to a two- or three-person operation all the way up to the largest employers in town,” Clark says. “We internally say, ‘have it your way,’ right? We’re always trying to figure out what each individual member needs and how can we respond to those needs, which is what makes it fun. It's always a challenge to be able to respond to that many different constituents.”
The secret to her success as a chamber leader is not only doing work she loves but doing it with people she admires, from her staff to chamber members to the organization’s board of directors.
“One of the joys of the job of being the chamber president is you get to work with an incredible board of directors,” Clark says. “I often laugh and say every single year I have a new boss when we get a new chairman of the board. That's a different person that I get to learn and grow from. I've always had incredible board chairs who are just pillars in the business community.”
The Holland and Zeeland business community is known for its entrepreneurial spirit, she adds.
“What's kept me going is that no two days are alike, and every single day I was energized by the people I got to work with,” Clark says.
While she plans to scale back work, Clark plans to remain involved in the business community. She set up a consulting firm, On Track Strategies, to work with businesses and organizations.
“I've got to find the right balance for me between work and play, travel and family time,” says Clark, adding that her calendar is booked in September working with a few local nonprofits and a Chamber of Commerce in Illinois.
“I've been asked to help with our strategic planning and meeting facilitation,” she says. “Those are two areas that I really love. I think it's just making for a nice transition for me into this next stage of life.”