Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors hired Carli (Carlene) Erickson as its new executive director.
Erickson has served as interim director since Carla Claasen resigned in late summer. She has been working as Sweet Home Economic Development Group’s administrative assistant following the resignation of Economic Development Coordinator Karen Owen.
She is now working half time for SHEDG and the chamber.
Erickson’s appointment as chamber director was effective on Oct. 16.
“This is an exciting time for Sweet Home,” said chamber President Jim Willhight. “Carlene’s commitment to the citizens of the area and its growth in commerce is reflected by her enthusiasm and vision for the future. We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with her.”
He added that her hiring was a unanimous decision by the chamber Board of Directors, reflecting the board’s confidence in her as the new executive director.
Erickson has lived in Oregon all her life and Sweet Home for most of her life. She was raised in Sweet Home and returned to raise her family here. She is married to Sean Erickson. They have six children.
“Sweet Home provides the small-town atmosphere I believe is conducive to raising well-rounded children,” Erickson said. “The community participates in helping them put down firm roots while encouraging them to dream big.
“The reason I wanted to do this job, I love Sweet Home. It was a great place to grow up.”
Sweet Home has changed since then, she said.
“Everyone was either in logging or related to someone in logging.”
But “it’s still a community that takes care of its own,” she said. “People love it and come back to it.”
While raising her children, Erickson was assistant director for Little Promises, a childcare and preschool facility. Most people probably know her as “Miss Carli” after her 16 years at Little Promises.
She wholeheartedly embraces the vision of the Chamber, which is to help create and maintain cohesive relationships within the business community, Willhight said. She believes a society that is unified personally as well as professionally will thrive and grow.
The chamber board has a new enthusiasm this year, largely propelled by Claasen’s energy and enthusiasm, Erickson said. She shares the attitude.
“Our business community needs to have a strong relationship with each other,” Erickson said. Businessmen in the community are all busy, but a little time spent with each other nurtures relationships that can prove useful.
CenturyTel’s sponsorship of the successful “Chamber Welcomes” program has been a key part of achieving this, she said. “That was a huge step to us getting out there. They created a way for us to have after-hours events.”
The Chamber Welcomes program is an after-hours get-together for local chamber members. It is hosted at different businesses throughout the community.
They provide opportunities for members to network, get to know each other and eat some “goodies,” Erickson said. “Most communities, you have to pay a couple of bucks to do that.”
CenturyTel is footing the bill in this case, she said, and she and the chamber board are trying to maintain the enthusiasm that’s been building this year.
“Sweet Home’s economy is on the upswing,” Erickson said. Things like the Jamboree are giving Sweet Home a name.
“You have to credit the Jamboree with showing people we can be a place on the map, not just a little town with an adorable name,” she said.
Sweet Home has hundreds of new homes coming up, she said, and people are coming with it.
“We get numerous calls daily,” she said. People are asking what Sweet Home has to offer residents who locate here.
She said most of them are from young families looking for a place to raise their children in a small town or retired couples looking for a quiet place to relocate.
At the same time they seek that small-town closeness, they want quick access to things like the beach or the mountains.
“We still have time for each other,” she said. One 81-year-old couple relocated to Sweet Home from Wamic, sight unseen. They needed some help with the move on the Sweet Home end.
Erickson told them to give her a day, and she found two volunteers to help unload the couple’s possessions.
“One of the things the chamber wants to do is continue that small-town atmosphere but be financially stable,” she said. The chamber also wants to help fill up empty store fronts with businesses that will survive. To that end, the chamber, through programs like the Chamber Welcomes, helps by providing mentoring.
“They need to draw wisdom from people who’ve been there and know,” she said.
Sweet Home has had a problem with apathy, she said, noting that Claasen and this chamber board have helped renew enthusiasm.
“I think the chamber needs to help get people excited about what they’re doing,” she said, and this focus on relationships among chamber members is doing that. She encourages chamber members to participate and those who are not chamber members to join.
The chamber needs volunteers, she said. Local volunteers can help promote Sweet Home by telling others why they love Sweet Home.
To volunteer or for more information about the chamber, call 367-6168.