Brian Bondy has been selected to serve as the new president of the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce beginning in March. For the past five years, Bondy has served in the same role with the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce.

Bondy has worked within various chamber of commerce organizations since 1995 when he served as executive director of the Northwest Chamber of Commerce in Bridgeton, Missouri. Since then, he has held leadership roles at the Maryland Heights Chamber of Commerce in St. Louis as well as the Aransas Pass and Kerrville Area chambers of commerce in Texas.

Why did you decide to apply for the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce position?

Two reasons: opportunity and family. Conroe is a larger chamber than we have in San Marcos. In my profession, I have to either stay with an organization that is growing or go to an organization that is larger, and Conroe presents that opportunity. In fact, [the chamber] is in a vibrant market with a lot of growth opportunity. Not that it is not the case here in San Marcos, but with Conroe being tied to the Greater Houston area and to me growing up in the Houston area, it represents a terrific growth opportunity. The other side of that equation is family. I have a mother and three sisters who live in the Greater Houston area and it is a great opportunity to come home and be closer to my family.

What defines a successful chamber of commerce?

It is a membership organization so that means that the membership has to continually be growing: that the members that are a part of the organization continue to stay in the organization, stay active in the organization and bring others into the organization. That is the backbone of a membership group like the chamber of commerce. It is not a government entity; it is based almost exclusively on raising revenues from member investments, special events and other products and services like seminars or publications where they can derive some advertising or seminar revenue. So we have to be on top of our game, and we have to make sure that we are providing benefits for the members that we have.

The Conroe chamber has been growing in recent years. What do you bring to the chamber to continue this trend?

The biggest strength that I bring to the table is a diversity of experience: from suburban chambers to rural chambers and urban chambers. Each of those provides a different sort of skill-set from different types of markets. If you really look at it, Conroe fits into all of those [classifications]. From what I learned, [former president] Scott Harper did a phenomenal job in the time that he was here. So my goal is to help the chamber get to the next level. That is what anybody in my position would want to do with this amazing opportunity.

What effect should a chamber have on local business?

I think it is different for each business. We have a program called Leader Cast [in San Marcos], which is a national program that is streamed live on the Web with national speakers. It is a quality program that allows businesses to send their employees to hear speakers like the president of Apple or the president of General Electric Co. or people like that. That is where we are providing a value for businesses to get their employees that next level of training. I think when a Chamber of Commerce is doing its job, it is providing programming that its members really do need.

What goals would you like to achieve during your time at the Conroe chamber?

I told the search committee that we should be a 2,000-member chamber of commerce. It is not going to happen overnight, but it would be phenomenal for this organization to reach that level. It is attainable, and it is doable. Everybody has to be pointing in the same direction and have the same vision that this is where we need to be with the organization. That, to me, is something that is worth shooting for.

From what you have learned to this point, what would you like to expand upon and the chamber?

I am a big believer in synergy and partnering with comparable organizations. One of the things that impressed me from the get-go is the fact that even though the chamber of commerce, economic development corporation and the convention and visitors bureau are three separate entities, they are housed in one building. That sends a huge message to people who are looking at a community but also people within a community. It says “here are three groups that want to work together for the betterment of Conroe and the Conroe area.”

How would you attract additional members?

We need to make sure that we are on top of our game in providing great value, great benefits, programming, special events and things that these businesses need to continue to be successful.