Lily White
Vice President of External Affairs, Columbia Chamber of Commerce
Job description: Working within the community to identify and meet determined needs, incorporating the government affairs activities of the Chamber at the city, county, state and federal levels.
What is your background with chambers of commerce and economic/community development? I began working in the Chamber of Commerce industry in 2016 when I was hired as the Executive Director of the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce and License Bureau in Maryville, Missouri. I served in that role for five years and just celebrated my third-year anniversary as the VP of External Affairs here in Columbia in August. Altogether I have served as a leader in a chamber of commerce for more than eight years now.
Hometown: South Kansas City, Missouri
Years lived in Columbia: Three
Favorite volunteer/community activity: I think that of all the incredible things we have in Columbia, some of my favorite things are the farmers market and the living windows event downtown. I love the way the businesses and venders in our community put their all into those kinds of events.
Favorite recent project: Every year I get to plan the Leadership Visit that the Chamber takes. This is a trip to a different city in the United States, and we take about seventy community, business, and education leaders from Columbia and Boone County. This year we went to the Research Triangle Park in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I am looking forward to seeing what work comes out of this year’s trip for our community!
A Columbia businessperson you admire and why: I came to Columbia because I met Matt McCormick at a conference. The Columbia Chamber had the VP role open, and I knew it was time for me to move to a larger chamber to advance my career. I knew I wanted to learn from someone with years of experience in the industry that had a presence in the national associations.
Why you are passionate about your job: We get to spend every day learning why people love their jobs and how we can assist in making their businesses and careers easier or more attainable in our community.
If you weren’t doing this for a living, you would be doing… I am truly obsessed with what I do for a living. However, if I wasn’t doing this, I think I would be good at explaining how government works to citizens. I don’t think I would be a great teacher to kids, so it would need to be grownups, like before they voted or when they were frustrated with something happening in the government. Or a professional Santa’s helper. I love Christmas.
It seems that we all have competing priorities these days. How do you prioritize your priorities? I try to work fluidly and always remind myself that what needs to be a priority in the moment will be obvious and I will do everything I can to take care of the immediate need.
Tell us something about the Chamber of Commerce that you believe most people don’t know or understand: The Chamber of Commerce industry has so much history in every community, there is so much to know. Some of my favorites are that the US Chamber of Commerce was created with the goal of creating the national budget, it obviously succeeded. Additionally, the Chicago Chamber of Commerce helped fight mobs, and the San Franciso Chamber of Commerce is why the Golden Gate Bridge exists! Here at the Columbia Chamber, we haven’t fought any mobs, that I know of, but we are very involved in the Rocheport Bridge project as well as the I-70 expansion, which is pretty cool. I liken our work to not being elected officials with our names publicly on projects or laws, but a lot like Aaron Burr, we are in the rooms where it all happens.
Biggest lesson learned in your working life: You don’t have to say out loud what people can see. When I was very early in my career, I felt like I always needed to tell people that I was working hard, until a friend and mentor said, “We can all see hard work, when it is coming with results. You don’t have to tell people you are working hard. It is obvious because you are getting things done.” That has continued to be very impactful for me to remember.
Greatest strength: I am proud of my ability to always find creative solutions. The answer is never really “no,” it just might be how can we find a different route.
Greatest weakness: I am a terrible morning person. I have a love-hate relationship with my alarm.
What you do for fun: I love everything I do with my family and friends. We like to be outside, hiking or playing soccer. We hang out at the pool a lot in the summer.
Most people don’t know that you: I love to backpack! A few years ago, I hiked over 30 miles of the Grand Canyon.
