Everyone with a job is responsible for contributing to the success of their company.
Imagine how that responsibility is multiplied when the job is to contribute to the success of nearly every business in Springfield.
Lindsay Haymes is the manager of business assistance for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. She works every day to support companies in the Springfield area as they grow and develop.
“Much of the direct support offered to our region’s largest companies is handled by me,” Haymes says. “This is some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done and I am passionate about this support the chamber provides.”
One of her proudest accomplishments, Haymes says, is creating the Industry Council for leaders in the local stainless steel manufacturing industry.
“Our goal was to bring these industry leaders together with community partner organizations like the chamber, Ozarks Technical Community College, the Career Center and City Utilities to find common solutions to their workforce concerns, along with any other regulatory or community concerns they face,” she says.
Haymes says workforce and labor supply are top concerns of companies today. To help business leaders address these issues, she was asked to represent the chamber on the P-20 Council of the Ozarks, a communitywide effort to help employers, educators and policymakers coordinate their efforts to ready students for the workforce.
“I’ve worked with the leadership at all of our education institutions along with businesses in our target industries to come together and think about how education and workforce development can better meet the needs of our community’s businesses (and ensure) that when students graduate from high school and college, they have the skills to get a job here in Springfield or in our region,” Haymes says, noting supporting area employers with these services is of vital importance to the local economy.
Her leadership skills were recognized when Haymes was selected to participate in the 2014 Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives’ Fellowship for Education Attainment. The yearlong fellowship brings together chamber executives from across the country to improve the “birth-to-career education pipeline” in their communities, she says.
It’s not just the employers who deserve support, Haymes says. The employees who create a successful company also need help from time to time, especially if they are dealing with illness or injury in their families.
To assist parents struggling with a child’s medical bills, in 2010, Haymes helped found the nonprofit Hope Foundation.
“Medical bills are one of the top causes of bankruptcy in America, and we try to help families during their crisis, so they can focus on the care of their child,” she says.
To date, the Hope Foundation has distributed more than $70,000 to local families.[[In-content Ad]]
