J.J. Hollie said he is focused on making The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce a collaborative organization and resource for local businesses. Hollie began his career as a staff member with former U.S. Sen. Charlie Wilson from 1991-96 and did various governmental casework and helped local constituents solve problems.

He started working for Consolidated Communications in 1998 and spent nearly 20 years working for the company in a product management role. Hollie’s work with the company took him to Montgomery County and The Woodlands area in 2007. He participated in Leadership Montgomery County in 2008-09 and first became involved in the chamber’s legislative team because of his political background. When former chamber president Karen Hoylman announced her plans to retire in mid-2015, Hollie was approached about the position. He started as chamber president Sept. 1.

Hollie said he believes there are four important things a chamber should do in a community, including networking and marketing and becoming involved in the community. Additionally, a chamber should focus on nonprofits in the community and become politically active to help businesses and individuals become informed, he said.

What are your daily job duties as chamber president?

It’s management of the business, but it’s also about helping to be a collaborative organization by building relationships and being involved in the right organizations, activities and groups. It’s about helping to do all those things that provide the environment you want to have so someone can operate a business and be successful.

What is your vision for the chamber?

It’s about being an organization that helps people meet each other and create relationships and work together to foster the benefits of the community to improve The Woodlands. The other piece is that we want to be more politically active—that’s been a big part of what I’ve worked toward. We’ve rebranded our legislative team, and we now call it the Business Advocacy Council because as a chamber we want to advocate for our businesses to our local, state and federal officials. Those are the two biggest things: providing a collaborative umbrella and being more involved politically.

Why is it important for a chamber to be politically active?

Voter apathy is a problem nationwide. I think people are largely disengaged because they feel like they can’t make a difference, and they feel skeptical about politics. There are, for instance, road bonds and school bonds and local elections that our membership needs to get out and have their voice heard on. We have great representatives in office, and they’re very open to meeting with us and talking to them about concerns that our business leaders here have.

What are the main challenges facing the business community in The Woodlands?

The biggest challenge right now is the price of oil and how long [the downturn] is going to last and how many people it’s going to affect. We’re in a really good position, though. Yes, we have a largely energy-based economy, but our net job numbers still grow during an oil downturn. Part of the issue is that we don’t overemphasize the price of oil and how it will affect the economy—we should look at it in real terms and understand the history. The good news about being in The Woodlands is that we have a lot of headquarters here, which in many respects are the last to feel the crunch. The closer you are to the oil patch, the more you’ll feel it. When we do have an economic challenge, organizations like Lone Star College have record enrollment because people need to be retrained for a different job, and LSCS is a crucial piece to that. There are always two sides of a coin when we talk about economics.

Why do you think The Woodlands attracts so many major employers?

The Woodlands is definitely one of the best places in the country to live, work, play, worship and enjoy all the amenities we have here. It’s been so well-managed and well-placed even with not being an incorporated city. Just take a drive around and look at how successful it is. When someone comes here, that’s the first thing they notice, just what a gorgeous place it is.

How would you like to see growth continue in The Woodlands?

I want to see good, measured growth that balances the beauty and serenity of The Woodlands. One thing I wouldn’t like to see is The Woodlands become an urban sprawl, concrete jungle. It’s been very well-maintained to avoid that. We do need to solve our transportation issues. We’ve got to get out in front as opposed to being a decade behind of where we’re building roads and how we’re building roads. You could almost make a case that anywhere you put a road is a good thing—roads lead to people being able to move and get to a business, and we need to figure out how to solve our transportation issues.