Chamber Work—From ‘Herding Cats’ to ‘It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This’

Dave Kilby

Chamber work can certainly run the gamut and has been described as challenging, frustrating, all-absorbing, unpredictable, busy (of course) and, yes, ”herding cats.” But at the end of the day, it also can be REWARDING beyond belief.

There may not be another profession that has the potential to make as much of a difference and impact the future of your community as chamber work.

Who else can look back (often decades later) and know that their work has truly made a difference, and played an important role in such things as solving problems, improving the quality of life, helping small businesses grow, and advocating for projects that have resulted in changing the course of your community?

In addition to WHAT chambers and chamber professionals are doing to make a difference, another rewarding aspect of chamber work is WHO you get to work with—your board, your officers, business leaders, government officials and other community stakeholders. They are truly the best and the brightest in your community.

The previous statement has certainly been true for me from my local chamber days, to the California Chamber, and, certainly, with W.A.C.E.

YES—at every step in my career, I’ve been fortunate to work with “Hall of Famers” and that’s true with an exclamation mark at W.A.C.E.

New Life Members

To drive this point home, you need look no further than our Association’s two newest Life Members, who were approved by the Board at our October meeting: Leron Gubler and Scott Raty.

Leron and Scott, who will be recognized at the Wednesday lunch at our annual conference on February 6, 2019 at Disneyland, are two true chamber champions.

BOTH have had stellar careers at the chambers and have served our Association in numerous capacities, including as chair of the W.A.C.E. Board, conference chair, chair of the Academy Steering Committee, and have been recipients of our prestigious Russell E. Pettit “Excellence in Leadership” Award.

It has been my honor and pleasure to have Leron and Scott throughout their entire chamber careers and to have learned from them and worked with them for so many years.

There is no doubt about it—the chamber business, and, frankly the world, would be a much better place, if we had more people like Leron and Scott, who are wired to make a difference.


Dave Kilby is the president and CEO of W.A.C.E., and is executive vice president of corporate affairs at the California Chamber.