“I am not one to sit idle and watch the world go by,” he says. “Each day, I make things happen.”
The membership director for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce says he wakes each morning asking, “How can I help my members become more successful?”
One answer was the 60 Minutes to Success educational series that McCoy launched in 2008 to teach area business owners and managers about tools and resources available to improve their businesses. Another answer was the Business2Business A.M. program he introduced in 2009 as a venue for product and service promotions and sales lead generation.
These efforts and others have helped chamber membership hold steady at nearly 1,900.
“Brent’s leadership at the chamber has kept the membership levels far in excess of our peer cities,” says Bob Hammerschmidt, Commerce Bank’s regional president, who has worked with McCoy as a chamber board member and vice president for membership in 2007. “We sought to turn around several years of declining membership. Thanks to Brent’s energy and hard work, (we were) able to get membership above the 2,000 mark for the first time this decade.”
Additionally, the chamber’s retention rates for first-year members the last two years were above 70 percent, against a national average of 55 percent.
As a result, national and state recognition has come McCoy’s way. In 2007 and 2009, his Benefits of Membership marketing collateral received an Award of Excellence from the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Missouri. And in 2009, his Benefits Guide received the same excellence award but on a national level from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives.
Prior to working at the chamber, McCoy was chief association officer for the Springfield-based American College of Forensic Examiners International. There, he helped develop a comprehensive course and official text for the Certified Medical Examiner Certification that is recognized by national forensic experts.
McCoy’s community service includes membership and volunteer time with Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks, American Cancer Society’s Cattle Baron’s Ball, United Way, Child Advocacy Center and Sunrise Rotary Club of Springfield, for which he’ll serve as 2010-11 public relations committee chairman.
“I have made it a top priority to build and develop strong and successful relationships with businessmen and women in our community,” McCoy says. “Collectively, we can accomplish what each of us could not accomplish individually.”[[In-content Ad]]
A franchise store of a Branson West-based quilting business made its Queen City debut; Grateful Vase launched in Lebanon; and Branson entertainment venue The Social Birdy had its grand opening.
