Embarking on another adventure

When Stacy Crimmins first came to work for the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce 17 years ago, she came in as a part-time administrative assistant to the director. The hours worked well for her since she had a family.

She had been in her position a very short time when the director was let go. Crimmins said she was offered the director job then, but she didn't want it. She wanted to stay part-time to be able to spend time with her kids, who were starting school.

Crimmins found herself putting in more hours to keep the chamber going without a director and, for all practical purposes, she was doing the director's job and liked it.

"The position at first was just a job, but then I realized it could be a career," Crimmins said. "I also realized it would work as I raised my family."

Being a part of her children's lives as they went to school was important to her and she wanted to make sure the career would allow her to still be a hands-on mother. It was a factor for why she discontinued her interior design business that she ran for five years.

Crimmins graduated with a degree in interior design at the University of Minnesota. She met her husband, Mike, at the same university. In 1994 they came to Saratoga because Mike got a job at Kelley Ranch LLC.

"He worked his way up over the years and became manager," Crimmins said of her husband. "I opened the shop before I had my daughter and ,when she came along, it was difficult to run the business. So I closed down, although it was hard because of the years I had put in. From that experience it made me careful about what career path I was going to head down."

When she decided to take over managing the Chamber, Crimmins said the headquarters was where Laura M has opened her new section of the store. She is glad the Chamber is now located at the Platte Valley Community Center.

"There is a sense of professionalism that is evident when you come into our offices," Crimmins said about the current location. "Plus there is plenty of parking and people can still be walking downtown in minutes, It is very good for the Chamber to be here. A lot of our members felt that it elevated us by being here."

Crimmins said one of the accomplishments she is most proud of was taking over an organization that was about $10,000 in debt and has pulled it into the black.

"We have a savings account that has seen over a thousand percent increase and, while doing that, I have increased our budget," Crimmins said. "My philosophy has been we are a non-profit and it was more important to put money into certain members and I wasn't so concerned about my paycheck and benefits. Luckily my husband had a good job with benefits."

Crimmins said her design skills helped because she did a lot of work in-house when it came to making posters and flyers.

She also got the membership up to 180. During her tenure she has seen businesses come and go. There are many reasons a business will close down, but one of the most common is winter.

"People come here after vacationing and want to make a life here and then the first winter hits and then they are gone," Crimmins said. "They didn't do enough research to find out what it was like here."

Crimmins said that the Valley supports the Chamber says a lot about the community.

"The Chamber is an integral part of the community and it helps the town become an economic driver for the region, and the fact is chambers are important for helping businesses in a community," Crimmins said. "That is my philosophy."

Crimmins said that it is probable many people don't know all that the Chamber has been involved in over the past 17 years that she has been running it.

"We have been advocating and paying attention to the state legislature, and federal legislation, weighing in on tourism, state projects, economic development," Crimmins said. "It is about laying a foundation with information that will be useful to their businesses and utilizing workshops for members that give the latest education available."

She said some members took advantage of what was offered and others did not.

Crimmins said the Leaders Luncheon she has monthly is a successful event that she has seen work over the years.

She said Saratoga is blessed having the hot springs and the river running through it.

"We have become a destination," Crimmins said. "The springs are unique and the river has great fishing. It is unbelievable how popular they are. On Google searches, the hot springs gets over 50,000 searches a month. The community could still draw people without the hot springs but, historically, the hot springs have always been our biggest draw to visitors to the Valley."

She said the restaurants and places of accommodations work in synergy with the natural resources available throughout the town. Crimmins said when these businesses do well, so do other businesses in town. When businesses do well, infrastructure is put in place. She said what makes Saratoga work is that it has diverse industry with agriculture, tourism and lumber businesses.

Crimmins is proud to have been a driving force in bringing broadband to Saratoga.

"A lot of businesses here in Saratoga don't use email or computers, but there are businesses that depend on the internet," Crimmins said. "For these businesses and businesses that want to come here, fast broadband was something the town needed."

Crimmins said, as social media has been instrumental to businesses, the Chamber has been there with workshops and training. She said technology is changing and the Chamber has made an effort to be aware of as much as possible.

"It is about change and adapting, whether it is a business or a chamber," Crimmins said.

Over the years some events were dropped and others have grown. An event she created when she first came on board was the Festival of Trees.

"Our first year we raised a couple thousand which was something to be proud of, but it has grown to the point that this year, we raised over $13,000," Crimmins said. "We have been able use this fundraiser to give back to organizations in the community that don't have strong funding."

Seventeen years gives Crimmins many memories of working in the community through the Chamber.

She is leaving the Chamber because she feels that after many years under the same leadership, it is good for an organization to get new blood. She says the Chamber is an organization that has to keep going for decades, so different perspective is good.

The timing is right for her. Crimmins has ideas on what she can do once she leaves, and she looks at the future as another adventure. She is looking at grant writing for other non-profits. She still sees herself helping the community.

It doesn't mean she won't miss the Chamber.

"I have become very close friends with many of the members on personal level and enjoyed many in a professional level," Crimmins said. "People have taught me things and through this job, I have learned a huge amount. I learn something new every day and I can transfer that knowledge to another member. I have loved this job immensely and, honestly, it is the best job I ever had. No question I will miss it."