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07/19/2017 08:30 AMWhen Ken Hartley, the new executive director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, went to his 50th high school reunion recently, he exchanged life updates with his former classmates. When the conversation turned to what everyone was up to now, the most predominant answer was “I’m retired.” Ken had a different answer.
“I just started a new job six weeks ago,” Ken told his classmates.
When asked why he wanted to start a new job when so many of his peers are retiring, Ken says, “It was a matter of seeing an opportunity to do something.”
Ken, who started in his current role in May, laughs when asked what his day to day schedule looks like. He then showed three long to-do lists that had gathered just from the last two days.
“My average day is a lot of different things,” he says. “People walk in, people call on the phone.”
When not working directly with members, Ken coordinates the logistics of various events, such as checking on food orders, registrations, and schedules.
One upcoming meeting on which Ken is focused is on Tuesday, July 25, when he’ll meet with volunteers to help plan the 2018 Summerfest. Ken says after the 2017 event was called off, some residents had come forward offering to help with the next Summerfest.
“A lot of people expressed interested and said, ‘If I knew you needed help, I would have,’” says Ken.
While fundraising is always a need, Ken also notes that there are other needs that have to be met to facilitate the event, too.
“We need bodies,” says Ken.
Ken encourages anyone interested in volunteering their time to contact the Chamber and come to the meeting.
Another event that Ken is focusing on is the Chamber’s Business After Hours networking events, which occur every few weeks and rotates between different venues. The events typically run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Ken described the event as a “meet and greet,” with refreshments and raffle tickets and prizes available, too.
While Ken has only been in the executive director role for two months, he has been involved with the Chamber for about five years, including serving on its Board of Directors, and has hopes for what the Chamber can become.
“I think my proudest moment will be seeing what develops in the future,” Ken says. “I want to bring the focus back on our members. We want to be a resource.”
Ken says the area he hopes he can improve on is the perception some people have of Clinton being stuck in its ways.
“If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward,” says Ken, whose time working in the technology field favored a forward-looking perspective.
Once the summer ends, Ken will devote his time to some of the other events the Chamber puts on. One such event is the annual concert performed by the United Stated Coast Guard Band, which takes place on Friday, Oct. 6 at the new Morgan School.
“It’s always been a popular concert,” says Ken.
Rounding out the fall season is the Trunk or Treat, which takes place on the last Friday in October (Oct. 27 this year) and Christmas in Clinton, which Ken describes as a town-wide event.
“We have a large participation for that,” says Ken.
When Ken isn’t working, he enjoys several hobbies to keep busy. While he used to have a vegetable garden, Ken mainly now just grows flowers. A voracious reader, Ken likes to read anything from a biography, to popular fiction like books by Tom Clancy and John Grisham, to magazines and classics like Les Misérables.
“I read a little bit of everything,” says Ken.
A big baseball fan, when he’s not watching the Mets or the Red Sox, Ken likes to stay active by playing softball in the summer. Ken has lived in Clinton since 1980, but is originally from upper Bucks County in southeastern Pennsylvania. Upon moving to Clinton, Ken worked for a technology company in the graphics department.
“I like Clinton, I like it a lot,” says Ken.
Though he is new to the role of executive director, Ken has become comfortable in his role.
“I like what I’m doing,” says Ken.