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Our Creative Chamber

Meet the three accomplished professionals who power the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce

Whitney Bryant, 2010-2021 Board Chairman and an investment advisor with Financial Strategies of Georgia

Laura Houston, Director of Marketing, Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce

Robin Buckley, Chief Operations Officer

JCL: What are your goals for the JC Chamber in 2021 and how will you make those happen?

RB: Our goal moving into 2021 is to stay flexible and responsive to our membership.  If nothing else, COVID taught us that we need to be able to adjust quickly to new situations, not rely on “what we always do.”

WB: We want to be the best support and resource for our members that we can be. We have maintained full operations throughout the pandemic (even if we are doing it from home), networking, as well as board meetings, and fundraisers. We have tapped the great resource that is our Board of Directors, full of incredible local leadership, to come up with creative ways to be the best Chamber for our members and community.

LH: Double the Chamber’s social media engagement enhancing our ability to spotlight members and streamline communication channels. Working on actual engagement vs pushing information, creating loyalty to the Chamber and member to member.  We can make that happen through sharing relevant data and staying on top of “mentions”. Now more than ever, members are turning to online for business, so we want to continue to make engagements as useful as possible for members.

JCL: You are busy! How do you keep the balance? 

RB: Personally, I have learned to ask for time to make decisions and how to say “no” when the situation doesn’t work for me.

WB: This is a struggle, but I force myself to unplug from obligations at least once a day – whether that’s reading a book, vegging out to a show I’m binge-watching, or walking my dog around the block.

LH:  I make sure I schedule time for the things important to me and my family. Schedules for Chambers are unique with events at different times of the day and different locations as well. If you stay on top of your calendar, you can balance all aspects of life. Fortunately for me, I work for a very “family-friendly” organization.

JCL: Where do you like to go walking to clear your mind in JC?

RB: Newtown Park – As a Navy Veteran I have a serious soft spot for the Veteran’s Memorial & Wall That Heals.  When I have my dog with me, we like the trails and tunnels with the murals, etc.

WB: If I want to really, truly get away and clear my head, I go sit by the river off of Barnwell Rd. My quick, get-out-of-the-house walk though, is to Webb Bridge Park just over the Alpharetta border from my house. I can’t wait until the trails at Cauley Creek Park are complete. That sounds like it is going to be a wonderful place to escape.

LH: Newtown park, the Veteran’s Memorial Walk is a wonderful place to walk through. I really enjoy the Vietnam Veteran’s Wall that Heals as I helped fundraise to have that monument installed. It’s nice to see the community’s efforts come to fruition.

JCL: Where is home, sweet home?

RB: I live off of Old Milton Pkwy in Bridge Pointe S/D – 1.5 miles from 400/Avalon.  It is a great neighborhood/location. My dog, Rocky (13-year-old boxer/bully mix) and I have lived there for seven years.  Prior to that, we lived in South Forsyth for 16 years.

WB: I’ve lived in the Abbotts Cove neighborhood for just over four years with my husband, Dave, and two sons (James 11 and Matthew 6), and our dog Otter, cat Maple, and snake Neville.

LH: Although I work in JC, I live in Milton. Twenty plus years in Milton. My husband and I are semi-empty nesters (two sons in college). We are also parents of a Carolina Dog named Jane and a “Shepweiler” (half German Shepard/half Rottweiler) named Whiskey and three cats.

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