What Advice Would You Give Business Owners as They Deal with an Uncertain Business Climate? – Kali Boatright, Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce
John Ray: [00:00:00] And hello again, folks, I’m John Ray again here at North Fulton Business Radio, and I’m here with Kali Boatright, and Kali is the CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. So, Kali, I ask you, what’s the one piece of advice you would give business owners right now on dealing with this current chaos?
Kali Boatright: [00:00:17] You know, mine probably is not going to be what most people would think a Chamber President would go out there with. But it’s it’s certainly what I’m seeing both with businesses and in my neighborhood, John, I’m a hugger. And so social distancing is particularly hard for those of us who really are relationship oriented. And so while we cannot touch or be huggers at this moment, I think be remembering that we have to stay connected to our family and our friends and being real with each other and making phone calls and checking in. You know, we can give virtual hugs by reminding each other why we do what we do and being supportive of one another. And I guess I could call that my virtual hug is that, you know, to remember that, you know, you love a lot of people out there. And while you may not be able to physically show them at this time, you certainly can show them by communicating.
John Ray: [00:01:12] Great advice. Thanks, Kali.
Kali Boatright: [00:01:14] My pleasure.
Kali Boatright, CEO, Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce
Kali Boatright joined the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce as President and CEO in 2018. As an expert in nonprofit management and a proven leader in organizational growth and strategy execution, she is most proud of her history of growing individuals on her team and collaboration with similar mission-driven organizations. Prior to taking the helm at GNFCC, she served as the CEO of the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce from 2004-2018 and before that as Chief Operating Officer of the Golden Key International Honour Society.
Boatright is a graduate of the US Chamber’s Institute for Organizational Management and is a Georgia Certified Chamber Executive. In addition, she serves as chair of the Georgia Chamber Federation on the Georgia Chamber Board of Directors, as an executive board member of the Regional Business Coalition, as a board member of Tech Alpharetta and as past Chair of the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.
In 2017, Boatright was honored by the chamber industry when she received the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Legacy Award. As the association’s most prestigious award, it recognizes long-term executives who have excelled over a period of years in leading and innovatively building their Chamber. The award is based on the demonstration of excellence in areas of chamber leadership, organizational management, service to the profession, community reputation/involvement, and personal attributes.
Kali is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She and her high school sweetheart David have recently become empty nesters with their oldest adulting ITP and only their youngest, a sophomore at Georgia Tech, remaining on payroll. David is a Chemistry Teacher at Cambridge HS in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Kali is the host of “GNFCC 400 Insider.” To find the show archive, go to GNFCC400Insider.com.
The “One Minute Interview” series is produced by John Ray and in the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link.
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