Hutto Chamber of Commerce President

The newest president of the Hutto Chamber of Commerce, John Darby, has worked in chambers of commerce and nonprofits for the past 16 years. Darby took the chamber's reins in Hutto on Aug. 18. He previously served as CEO of the Texas Chiropractic Association. Darby is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management. He also earned the Certified Association Executive designation from the American Society of Association Executives. He is married and has a 13-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.

What drew you to Hutto?

Hutto has a great sense of community and as a community has been able to rally around the hippo and made it our own. It is not just the high school mascot. There are 3,000-plus concrete hippos throughout Hutto. It is a small town with a big town real close by. But even then there are a number of amenities right here in town: obviously a great school system, a great place to raise kids, a burgeoning park system. Certainly quality of life is second to none.

For those who don't know much about the Hutto chamber, what is its purpose?

Our role really is to build community prosperity. We help the business community succeed and thrive. It is not just about, 'Oh lets go out and grow a business,' it is about community prosperity. As business owners do well, they are able to hire more employees. They are also able to pay their employees better, offer benefits or better benefits. When that happens, when everyone has more money in their pocket, they are more likely to want to vote yes on a school levy or on an Emergency Medical Services levy, which means that we have better schools and better emergency services. As commerce proliferates, we have fewer potholes because we have more sales tax money to fill in our potholes. So while we primarily service the business community, it is about community prosperity.

What has surprised you about this city?

I grew up in a small town and have been away from a small town for a long time. What do I love? I guess it is more of a surprise that reminded me of how great it is to walk into a restaurant and know a bunch of people, say 'hi' and shake hands. It's not that I just walk in and walk straight back to my table; it is going to be a little bit of a trek because I've got to walk back and say hi to the mayor and shake hands with some guys from the school district and the economic development corporation and whatnot. It has been a great experience because the community knows one another, and we are able to see each other and interact.

What was your first order of business?

My first order of business was Olde Tyme Days; it is our biggest event of the year. I was hired two months before the event. This year it has been primarily volunteer-led, and they have done great work.

What major changes do you hope

to make?

I wouldn't call them changes as much as it is taking programs to the next level. The chamber is a great organization with a strong foundation with some really good programs that I think we can make even better. A great example of that is "Go Hutto." If you peel the onion and say, 'What exactly is this?' it is a shop local campaign. The idea behind "Go Hutto" is to educate [the community] and say, 'Hey, you know you could drop that off before you leave town and pick it up when you come back in.' The difference is that your sales tax dollar goes to fill a pothole here, it pays for teachers and emergency responders here. So it is an educational program much greater than just a typical shop local campaign. That is just one example of a number of different programs that have a really strong foundation and are going well, and I see my role as taking those to those next level.

Are there any major goals you have set out for yourself or things you want to see done during your time here?

I think that one of the things that we really want to do is to have a capital facilities plan. We've got a great little downtown here, and our facilities don't exactly match the look and the feel of the cityscape. I have a capital facilities plan where I would love to do some remodeling that makes it fit in with the cityscape. We have a great downtown. I think most people, when they think of a downtown, they don't think of this. But if you come down on a Tuesday night, you are going to be hard-pressed to find parking. If you come down on a weekend, you are going to find some great live bands here. So people do spend time here. It's our goal, while we are the front door of Hutto by default; I want to have a facility here that showcases that.