Dec. 27, 2022 — Bettina Hannigan, president and CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, has been elected as chairperson for the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC) board of directors. OSCC is the largest grassroots organization for business in the state and gives a voice in the Capitol for small and large local business communities.

Hannigan will continue in her role with the Florence chamber. She has been involved in the OSCC since starting her job in Florence in April 2016 and was responsible for bringing their statewide convention to Florence in 2017. She has been an OSCC board member since 2019.

“In my role I will continue representing the business interests of Florence, the coast, and rural communities,” said Hannigan. “We often don’t get the voice we deserve when it comes to public policy, or the attention and resources we need. I will continue working to change that. Any time Florence is invited to the table it’s a win for us as it boosts our exposure and access to resources. We get more attention from, and traction with, legislative issues, government resources, travel industry resources, and representation in other areas of great importance for our community’ future. It’s critical that rural chambers band together to raise their exposure and gain balance with the metro area chambers in legislative matters.”

As OSCC board chair, Hannigan will also work with staff and serve as the “face of the Oregon Chamber” in commerce and government relations, provide leadership in legislative advocacy, and will develop and support other chambers and their executives. OSCC is launching a new program of one-on-one mentoring support, in addition to existing resource development and the annual conference to support and develop chambers’ execs and boards of directors. “Chamber execs are a fun-loving group of workaholics who can easily drift toward burnout. I’ll be working to counter burnout in our ranks.”

“To paraphrase Proverbs 27:17, ‘As iron sharpens iron, people, especially leaders, are called to sharpen the skills, abilities, and fortitude of others.’ I believe strongly that service is the key to effective leadership and am excited to serve the state’s chambers and local businesses to champion thriving communities. I will strive to bring Florence new and better ways to grow and strengthen our thriving community through sharing of policy, best practices, discovering new resources, and learning from others’ successes and failures.

The OSCC is a private nonprofit trade association for chambers of commerce that represents 85 local chambers of commerce around Oregon and more than 27,000 local businesses in every corner of the state,” explained Hannigan. “OSCC provides tools, resources, and methods to encourage collaboration among local chambers of commerce to elevate the level of the chamber industry in the state.”