As she brings her 18 years with the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce to a close, one of Penny Shanks? enduring memories has to do with team building.
“It was a team-building road rally,” recalled Shanks, executive director of the chamber. “We ended up at Mr. B’s. When I got up, they had toilet papered my car, which on the one hand was annoying. On the other, they had worked as a team. That was very cool.”
Shanks is leaving Clarkston and the chamber for Ann Arbor, but she’s taking this and many other memories with her.
“Directing traffic at the Holiday Lights Parade, when we were in charge of it, and it was so cold and I had my contacts in and with the wind, it would kind of freeze the contacts in my eyes ? I remember that one,” said Shanks, calling from Florida where she was participating in Disney running races.
Clarkston’s Community Awards program stands out, recognizing members of the community for work they do behind the scenes. She will always remember when they honored downtown business owner Dick Morgan as business person of the year, not long before he passed away.
“We went down and did an oral history with him prior to this. It was truly inspirational. Everything was totally right in that moment,” she recalled.
The chamber has had 19 presidents since she joined it in 1997, and countless ribbon cuttings, business get-togethers, and community events.
“I loved all the ribbon cuttings, and when L. Brooks Patterson would come around ? he’s been so supportive,” she said. “I’m thrilled to have Pat Kittle as supervisor of Independence Township. He has made such amazing things happen already.”
The annual outdoor Taste of Clarkston has grown into the envy of communities everywhere, she said.
“Seeing everybody in town, it’s like a community block party,” she said. “You realize it’s worth it. It’s totally worth it.”
They set it up to boost incentive to restaurants to bring more food, with profit sharing based on tickets used at their booths and no up-front payment, she said.
“There were ways to make more money like cover charges and wrist bands, but I believe in family friendly, don’t nickel and dime it to death,” she said. “The whole structure is so unique and so successful, we’ve been asked by many other communities how to do it. It’s been very rewarding.”
Another memory is the first year of the business expo at the new Clarkston High School, with chairman Marc Cooper.
“Marc had to go in for open heart surgery. He had just come back from the hospital, and he insisted in coming to the expo in a wheelchair. I thought he looked a little grey and he shouldn’t be there,” Shanks said. “That’s the kind of heart, no pun intended, the chamber presidents have had, the board of directors have had, for our chamber and our Clarkston community. It’s very rewarding to see that.”
Steve Hyer, Kurt Miller, Jim Patterson, Dawn Horner, Donna Bullard and the other chamber presidents over the year all made the organization successful, Shanks said.
“They’re all great in different ways ? they make a huge difference,” she said.
Shanks is retiring on Jan. 16, the day she joined the chamber 18 years ago. The opportunity to join the chamber in 1997 came at the right time for her and her husband, Kurt.
“In our family plan, it was like when the kids start middle school, you’re supposed to go back to work,” she said. “I actually did not apply for the job. They called me out of the blue because I was a very active volunteer in the schools and PTA.”
The interview was “very strange,” she recalled.
“I went into the interview and it was the craziest thing. They were selling me on the chamber. I wasn’t selling myself to them,” she said.
The chamber was small at the time, and she was its only employee.
“The first job they gave me was to find out how many members we had because we didn’t have a database,” she said. “So I thought, I can handle that.”
The chamber offices were up in the courthouse, she remembers.
“Most walk-in traffic was folks who were there to pay their traffic tickets,” she said.
She used her time management skills to convince the board of directors to focus on the future, which took a few years.
“Eventually, the board of directors started to look forward, down the road,” she said. “That empowered me and the board of directors to ask what can the chamber do, how can we make a difference. That’s when it really started getting fun.”
That’s when the chamber started working on the lights parade, Taste of Clarkston, and other signature events.
“You could see great things happening,” she said. “It turned into something that I love passionately. I love the chamber. I love the Clarkston community.”
Filled with peers in the business community, the chamber is very personable, something she will miss.
“We know each other well, we’re on a first name basis. We hug everybody,” she said. “I really want to thank The Clarkston News for what you do because a hometown newspaper is essential to keeping a hometown identity. It really needs to be there. It knits together through discussion and debate, and includes the good news and bad news the community needs.”
It’s difficult to step away, but Kurt needs a commuting break, she said.
“My husband works in Ann Arbor. He’s been commuting for eight years,” she said. “He’s had three accidents. The last one, he ended up in surgery ? how long to you play Russian Roulette on US-23?”
But she won’t leave Clarkston behind entirely, she said.
“I definitely will be a regular visitor ? I’ll probably volunteer at Taste. I don’t think I can stay away from that one,” she said. “I love Clarkston, the businesses here, restaurants here, people here that I will always stay in touch with and come back and support.”
A get-together is planned for Friday, Jan. 16, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Fountain’s Golf and Banquet, 6060 Maybee Road. Cash bar and light appetizers will be served. RSVP ASAP to marie@clarkston.org or 248-625-8055. Bring photos, bring stories, and memories to share.
“I ask for no roast ? please don’t make me cry in public,” Shanks said.