In Nixa, some 500 chamber of commerce members and a $350,000 annual budget are under the close watch of Marc Truby.
As executive director of the Nixa Area Chamber of Commerce the last two years, Truby has turned around a financially struggling chamber.
“The Nixa chamber was losing thousands of dollars every year for the past five years before I came on. We broke even last year, and we are in the black this year,” he says. “The pulse of the chamber is back, and there is a new image on the streets.”
Truby has led the change by engaging the community.
He currently serves on five boards – Nixa Community Foundation, Least Of These, Care to Learn, Azalea Association and the Nixa schools – in addition to advisory roles with seven other community organizations, such as The Optimist Club, Rotary and Masterminds of Business.
In his role, Truby also is on special event steering teams for NixaQue, Leadercast and Nixa Night at the Cards, as well as chamber golf tournaments and annual banquets. Last year, the city reported record-breaking business participation in Nixpo, its annual business exposition.
“We drive to be the ‘chamber with a heart’ and work directly with all organizations and community entities,” Truby says, pointing to chamber-integrated fundraisers for the Least Of These pantry, Nixa Schools’ Future Business Leaders of America and the American Cancer Society.
With a population of more than 20,000, Nixa is the largest Christian County city and represents a fourth of the county’s populace. With the growth, median home values have risen to $135,200, tops in the metropolitan statistical area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Still, Truby says there remains plenty of opportunity to help.
“Nixa is a flourishing city when you look at median income and home value, but there are still many in need, including a large senior population, which the Nixa chamber must step up and help,” Truby says, pointing to relocation services provided to the Nixa Senior Center and other senior housing.
During the last year, Truby also wore another hat to help out the chamber next door to Nixa. Republic’s chamber director, Julie Messick, died in early 2013, and Truby stepped in to provide direction until a permanent director was named.
“I have worked directly with [newly appointed director] Ron Peabody to help get them back up to speed,” Truby says.
Prior to joining the Nixa chamber in late 2012, Truby managed the Titanic museum in Branson 2006-08 and directed sales and managed some 700 members at Millwood Golf & Racquet Club.
“Being hired for this position two years ago was a major accomplishment,” he says. “I ran against a huge field of candidates with far more experience. I had to not only sell myself but also lay out a prominent vision for the Nixa chamber to the chamber executive team.
“Age has pigeonholed me in the past, but I am now a 34-year-old going on a 50-year-old pace for the last five years.”[[In-content Ad]]
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