The Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce was born 30 years ago in July of 1994 from a group of local businessmen and women that met at Capri’s Italian Restaurant located in the Kroger Shopping Center on St. Andrews Rd. The business group was originally called the Irmo Business Association or IBA and boasted a membership close to 70. That night, on Wednesday, July 13, they voted to officially change the name to Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce and towards the end of the first year total membership reached 170.
Acting president of the group, Don Snipes, felt the change would be good for the town and surrounding areas. “It will improve the business community and hopefully stimulate some additional business moving into the community,” Snipes said. “It should also improve communications between the business community, the residential community and the government.”
Snipes vowed that there was no interest in becoming a part of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce who had just opened a satellite office on St. Andrews Rd. “As far as an affiliation with the City of Columbia there won’t be any,” Snipes told a member who asked if there would be a relationship with the Columbia Chamber.
However, a decision was made to become affiliated with the SC Chamber of Commerce.
The boundaries were described generally as the area between Interstate 26 and the Lake Murray dam, from Piney Grove Road to Koon Road. Businesses outside the boundaries were eligible for associate membership.
During the first meeting of the newly formed chamber a committee was formed to study ways to become involved in the Okra Strut and plans for an upcoming directory. They also decided to explore locations for brochure stands and the possibility of an answering machine even though they had no plans to open an office at that time.
The Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce was officially chartered as a private, non-profit, partner-driven organization comprised of business enterprises, civic organizations, education institutions, and individuals. Chuck Larsen was at the helm as the first Executive Director and held that office until 2011 when he became President Emeritus, now at 96 years of age, he rarely misses a Chamber meeting.
The chamber opened an office at 1246 Lake Murray Blvd in the summer of 1994 which had a huge mural of a train on the side of the building painted by Mary Ann Dryden. The new offices expanded the reach of the chamber including the Greater Irmo Scholarship Pageant which awarded thousands of dollars to winners each year.
The current President/CEO of the Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce, Kerry Powers, was selected in 2015 when she was still working for Free Times. They had published several ancillary publications to diversify their revenue stream including a glossy relocation magazine called ‘West of the River’ and, as an oversight, left the Irmo Chamber out of the listings.
Kerry received a call one day from the then President of the Irmo Chamber, Tiffany Heitzman, who was not pleased that they had overlooked the Chamber. At the time, Kerry didn’t even know Irmo had a Chamber so she asked her to meet for coffee to discuss how to rectify the error. Two hours later, Tiffany revealed to Kerry that they were searching for a new President/CEO because Tiffany was leaving the chamber. Kerry wasn’t looking for a job but Tiffany asked that she throw her name in the hat and the rest is history.
The gal who knew very little about Irmo and had never been to a chamber meeting in her life was charged with growing an organization that had a rich, vibrant history in the Town of Irmo something that Kerry didn’t take lightly.
The Board of Directors facilitated the purchase of the current Chamber House and they promptly outgrew it the moment they moved in but it still continues to serve the chamber well. Through Kerry and the board’s guidance the Irmo Chamber made it through the shut down of 2020 and finished profitably racking up the best year in the organizations’s 30-year history. “Our mission has always been to provide leadership that will help create regional economic prosperity and success for our partners in the Irmo area,” said Kerry.
Kerry started ‘Coffee Talk’ on Tuesday mornings which has become a huge networking experience for local businesses. “Working alongside the Town to ensure Irmo is a destination and not a gateway is an important part of our strategic plan,” said Kerry. “I think that speaks volumes to the health of our organization.”
The chamber expanded the already popular golf tournament to a twice a year event and ‘Kerryoke’ at the chamber house has been a huge success.
“It has been my honor and privilege to lead this organization while Irmo continues to grow and prosper even in these challenging times,” said Kerry Powers, President/CEO of the Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce. “Most of all, I am grateful to those who came before me, many of whom are still involved even though they are retired and no longer run their businesses.”President/CEO Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce Kerry Powers with President Emeritus Chuck Larsen
