Rotary Club hears update from new Chamber Director

Published 10:12 am Wednesday, July 30, 2025

THOMASVILLE — The Rotary Club of Thomasville welcomed Esther-Marie Lawrence on Thursday, as she spoke about her role as the new Executive Director of the Thomasville- Thomas County Chamber of Commerce and some of the ideas she hopes to implement.

The Chamber of Commerce is responsible for connecting businesses, building community, and shaping the future of Thomasville. With more than 100 years in Thomasville, the Chamber has welcomed numerous companies and organizations, helping to grow the local business landscape.

Currently housed at 401 S. Broad Street, the Chamber of Commerce was constructed in 1957. In 1972, an extension was added to the building, allowing for a large training room that members can utilize and rent as available.

Since its inception, the Chamber of Commerce has become well-known for some of its programs, including its leadership class, which began in 1981.

“This has been an integral part of the community since 1981, and is one of the more special things the Chamber does,” Lawrence said. “We take around 20 emerging leaders through a very intensive leadership development program throughout the entire year.”

The leadership class is held one day a month for 12 months, beginning with a kickoff event and concluding in a graduation ceremony.

“They do leadership development in the morning and then in the afternoon we go out to businesses, industries, and other organizations where they get a lot of backstage access,” Lawrence explained, before encouraging Rotarians to nominate rising leaders in their personal organizations and businesses.

In addition to its leadership class, the Chamber is also known for its signature ribbon cuttings held for new and established businesses, along with its quarterly networking and development luncheons.

“We do a lot of ribbon cuttings for all of our new members who wish to have one,” Lawrence said. “We also do ribbon cuttings for our members that are launching a new branch of business or commemorating a significant anniversary.”

Chambers across the United States are known for providing networking opportunities for their members, and the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce felt that gathering people through development events served a dual purpose.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic nearly shut down the program.

“Once the program started to be re-offered, people were not in the mood to gather,” Lawrence said. “When we surveyed our members, they didn’t want to come to a business after hours; they wanted to be home with their families, so that’s when we created Thomasville’s Chamber Connects, which are held quarterly during lunch.”

Now that time has passed, Lawrence said people have expressed a desire to gather once again, so that is something she plans to survey the membership about once more.

“It is my hope we will be having more networking events, activities, and opportunities for our members to gather,” she said.

One of the powerful networking opportunities provided by the Chamber of Commerce is the School2Business Summit, which Lawrence said allows educators and businesses to cross-pollinate and see what is going on in each sector.

“We want our educators to see what the business needs are and our industries to understand what’s happening in our schools, because they are the ones preparing the next generation of the workforce,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence hopes that by schools and industries working together, Thomasville can retain its young people to work here and grow a family.

“You are investing in these young people and this future workforce,” Lawrence said. “It’s such a shame to put all energy into them and then they move away and do not let this community enjoy the fruits of their labor. We want them to stay.”

To help acclimate young people into the business community, the Chamber has opened a Young Professionals networking group, allowing friendships and business relationships to flourish.

Lawrence encourages both members and non-members to attend the group.

As the group continues to grow, Lawrence is excited to look for additional opportunities to create memorable experiences for sectors of the community.

“I’m excited to bring back more programs to the Chamber,” she concluded.