Seth Bagwell serves as the new membership sales representative for Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. In this role, he oversees the retention and addition of memberships within the chamber.

Q: What do you do in the new membership sales position?

It’s my job to reach out to really anyone who would benefit from being a member of the chamber, who is not already a member. We have people who walk into the office, believe it or not, just looking for more information about what membership entails, pricing and what the benefits are. But that’s my initial job. Also, just supporting the chamber, attending events, which is really fun for me.

Q: What does your day-to-day schedule look like for you?

I make sure at the beginning of the week I know what’s on my schedule. So, we have a network lunch every second Tuesday of the month, which is a big deal because it’s very well attended by our seasoned and new members. I plan when I can make calls for potential new members. So, a typical day just depends on the week.

Q: Does the chamber intersect with the University of Georgia’s campus?

Yeah, there are some parts of the community that I have great knowledge on, and there are some I have very little knowledge on, but I can tell you we do have a good connection with the University. They support us and we support them.

Q: What is something interesting about how the chamber operates in comparison to other chambers of commerce?

I’ll tell you honestly, from what I have been told. So, one of my first big events, I met a fairly new member of the chamber, and he said he had been to other chamber events with other chambers, and he said it was very cliquish. Now, how I interpret that is, yes, we are just a lot of fun, but because we are a very small staff, we have a very loyal, very helpful and very incredible group of ambassadors that are just a lot of fun. So, to answer your question, I think, in the very simplest terms, I think we’re just a very open, very friendly and very fun chamber.

Q: So, in terms of recent trends, do you see more local businesses trying to join the chamber or corporations?

So, it is some of both. I would say smaller businesses. I get a lot of leads. I’m not always in though, so someone can go on our website and just send in an email to the info, those will get forwarded to me. And those become a priority because that’s someone who’s showing interest.

Comments trimmed for length and clarity.

Cole Faucheux is a public relations student covering the business beat.