In April, I was honored to be handed the gavel to serve as Chairman of the Board for the Decatur-Morgan Chamber of Commerce for the next year. As I addressed the crowd of 230-plus Chamber members at our Annual Meeting, my main topic of emphasis was asking this question: “who are your Champions?” 

Ray Mabus, former Governor of Mississippi and now Secretary of the Navy, once said that sometimes people become the victims of the “tyranny of low expectations.” It oftentimes becomes satisfactory to “settle” for something less than optimal.

Local chamber leaders simply must not be satisfied when someone tells us, “that’s the best we can do.” We should never accept the notion that “doing all right” is the norm and is acceptable. Our challenge as local chamber leaders is to find new opportunities, make difficult decisions, raise expectations, and tackle the status quo.

Being part of the Leadership Committee at the Chamber is like many things in life – the title and the reality don't always match.