Articles of Interest

How Are You Protecting Your High Performers from Burnout?     
Harvard Business Review  
Many companies and leaders engage in three common practices, often unknowingly, that make top performers even more likely to burn out.
  
Any interaction with members, specifically with new recruits, needs to be geared toward fact finding.
 
  
CACCE

2018 CACCE
Event Dates
 

Be sure to save the dates for our remaining 
2018  CACCE event :

Annual Management Conference
October 3-5, 2018
Blowing Rock, NC 

REGISTER NOW


Bill Watson   
President  
Cleveland County (NC) Chamber of Commerce

bill@clevelandchamber.org  

Bill Watson How long have you been in Chamber work ?
Almost 4 years

How long have you been in your current position
Almost 4 years

What do you love most about your job?
I enjoy the challenge of making the Chamber relevant and important, especially to the business community, but also to the community as a whole. We are always looking for new and different ways to provide benefit. This year's big project, for example, is hosting a Disney Institute training session, which carries a sizable financial commitment, but will reward us with a unique, high quality Business Excellence course that will be of value to companies of all sizes and types.
 
Tell us about your most embarrassing Chamber moment.
I'm new to the area and have committed the usual public speaking goofs like mixing up County Commissioners' last names, neglecting to introduce one of my staff members, etc.  For me, though, my most embarrassing came at my first large Chamber event, the Taste of Cleveland County. My job was to snip arm bands off attendees after they visited restaurant booths.  I managed to cut a teen aged girl's arm band as well as cutting her handmade bracelet in half.
   
Who has had the biggest impact on your career and how?
I worked for GE for a long time and had several who helped along the way. Since coming to the Chamber, I have been most impressed and gratified by the support and guidance of Board members and community leaders, all of whom have been gracious and willing to share knowledge and advice whenever called upon.  I've found that kind of help to be extremely valuable, especially in a small county of around 100,000 people.
 
What is your Chamber's signature event? Tell us more about it... 
We really have 3. Our annual Awards Banquet recognizes various businesses and individuals in a variety of categories. We host the Taste of Cleveland County, which allows attendees to sample from different restaurants and caterers for one price, and usually draws around 500 people. And our Travel & Tourism division hosts the Liver Mush Festival, which typically brings around 15,000 people to Shelby. I'd have trouble recommending liver mush, but I certainly recommend the festival!

What is your favorite vacation destination and why?
I'm fortunate to have family across the country, from Bainbridge Island near Seattle to the Boston area as well as points in between, so have had the chance to enjoy them all.  However, I also have family in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, so those areas are our most frequently visited. 
 
Tell us more about your family and what you like to do in your spare time...
My wife and I have two adult daughters. One is a senior graphics designer for ESPN, based in Charlotte. The other is an attorney with the Secret Service in DC.  She and her husband are the proud parents of a 16-month-old boy, our first grandchild. Personally, I've always enjoyed watching and playing sports, have been a runner for many years including qualifying and running in two Boston Marathons. 
 
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I had the completely unrealistic goal of professional sports when I was a kid, then wanted to follow my father's footsteps as an engineer as I grew older, then finally arrived at a sales and management career.

Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives | 404-312-0524 | tfulmer@tlfexecutiveservices.com | http://www.cacce.org
1622 Tarklin Valley Road
Knoxville, TN 37920