There is new blood in the Chamber of Commerce office in the Community Hall. And with this new addition to its staff, the local chamber is looking to equally strengthen its services to members and the community.

Melissa Leitzsey, the chamber’s newly-minted director of communications and marketing, comes to the job with ideas and a philosophy.

“The chamber’s supposed to be the front door to the community,” Leitzsey says.

In order to become that portal, Leitzsey will dig into the programs already put into place by the group, adding “more meat” to them. She also anticipates bringing into play approaches she learned in her time in Aiken and Anderson.

And for Leitzsey, this is truly a return home. If her name is familiar, it should be no surprise, Leitzsey was Newberry High School’s Class of 2004 co-valedictorian. She went onto the University of South Carolina’s Aiken campus and earned her bachelor’s degree in communications in three years, along with “Outstanding Senior” honors.

An internship in her college’s marketing and public relations office, combined with a post-college stint as a public relations intern at a prestigious advertising firm in Greenville pointed her directly down this career path.

Leitzsey left the Erwin-Penland firm to work at the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, and found her area of focus. Working with and supporting all the different companies, large and small, that converge at a chamber of commerce is the pulse point of a business community for Leitzsey.

As such, Leitzsey is looking forward to increasing membership at the Newberry chamber, increasing the activities available to those members and member involvement in them.

Leitzsey says the chamber of commerce should reflect “the variety of what’s in Newberry” and plans to insure more than one entry in each business category in the group’s directory.

Further, she says the health of the organization is not just indicated by the length of its member list, but the hours business people spend with it.

“We’re here for the business community; strengthening them.”

To up the interest-level, Leitzsey wants to offer “quality events” and lots of networking opportunities. This would include continuing and expanding the chamber’s “Business After-Hours” events along with the group’s annual golf tournament fundraiser.

She would like to work closely with the Small Business Center based on the Newberry College campus and develop a roster of breakfast meetings, workshops and seminars for local business leaders.

Working with the local players in business is one reason Leitzsey would welcome a move to the old post office/library building on Friend Street—as has been proposed.

Developing a “Visitor and Economic Center” in the space is a notion put forth mainly through Newberry’s museum society. Leitzsey says, “Personally, it’d be a great thing...that many people of different talents in one place.”

The idea falls right in with Leitzsey’s philosophy of the chamber greeting visitors and members of the community and directing them to business resources in the area. Plus, the Newberry native points out, it is a good use of an historic building beloved by the community.

As for other innovations, those are in the planning stages, but Leitzsey is looking forward to strengthening the business community, in her hometown.