It was nearly five years ago that Jim Kelly quit the chamber of commerce.

A member for several years, he declined to renew his company’s membership during a tumultuous time in which the local business organization literally imploded. There was the sudden resignation of its president and CEO Dennis Sneden, and subsequent investigations by the district attorney and state attorney general’s offices. Then there was what seemed like the umpteenth name change reflecting ambitious growth toward regionalism that Kelly simply disagreed with.

Kelly asked himself, what ever happened to the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce? In 2005 he declined to renew his membership.

The president at the time of what then was known as the Suffolk-Nassau Chamber of Commerce, Congressman Michael Forbes called on Kelly to reconsider. Forbes must have liked what he heard. He asked Kelly to join the board of directors.

Kelly accepted, renewed his membership and watched things go from bad to worse.

“In August, things began to disintegrate. It all culminated with what to me was the inappropriate termination of Congressman Forbes by the executive board,” said Kelly.

The full board reinstated Forbes, and the executive board resigned en-masse. “Since I was one of the people leading the fight for Forbes’ reinstatement, I felt I should do something. I said, ‘I do this sort of thing – help companies to restructure, downsize’,” he said. “I volunteered.”

Not long after his attempt to quit the chamber, Kelly found himself chairman of the board, albeit a decimated one. Doing what he does best, Kelly led a restructuring and refocusing, starting with the third name change in about as many years, reverting to the original Huntington Township Chamber
of Commerce.

Four years after he first raised his hand to volunteer, Kelly is turning over to new leadership an organization that is leaner and meaner and rapidly growing. More important, Kelly said the chamber better serves the businesses of Huntington with programs that are of real value.

Kelly first came to Huntington after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Previously head of global procurement for Deutsche Bank, he founded JV Kelly Group and today helps a list of Fortune 1,000 companies streamline
their business practices. Turning that critical eye and analytical mind to the chamber, the organization downsized, refinanced and turned its focus on its core mission – serving local businesses and improving the business environment.

Under Kelly, the chamber went from a staff of 15 to just two full time employees. “We had full-time people to handle public relations, business development, full-time staff for the a Fall Festival, a full-time president and assistant, a fulltime bookkeeper,” said Kelly. “We just
didn’t need it.”

Staffers Ellen O’Brien and Linda Mitchell handled day-to-day operations, part-timers were brought in as needed, “and I focused everybody on living within their means.”

The chamber concentrated on programs as well as its committees.
 

“The old chamber was very good at holding events. That attracted a lot of regional members, but there are other things than networking and social aspects,” said Kelly, adding that chamber committees concentrate on serving members. “The Chamber is more useful. People are taking advantage of the resources.”

Those resources include a human resources committee, which keeps membership up to date on employment issues; a technology committee that is available weekly to provide free help to members; a small business advisory committee and a newly formed veterans committee, among others. A recent chamber initiative, spearheaded by incoming chairman Bob Bontempi, aims to educate consumers and businesses about the benefits of buying locally.

With Bontempi taking over as Chairman in June, Kelly plans on remaining active in the chamber, particularly at Fall Festival time. He is also joining the board of directors for the Huntington Arts Council, because “the arts are one of those things that differentiate this town, and it’s critical that we support the
arts in these times.”

Kelly also plans to be outspoken as a critic of the campaign currently under way to change Huntington’s government structure so that town board members represent districts within the town. According to Kelly, the campaign is divisive and unnecessary.

“We’ve had steady stable development, taxes have been stable, our bond rating is up as high as it’s ever been,” said Kelly. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

That sentiment’s quite the opposite of what Kelly found when he raised his hand for the chamber four years ago, and Kelly’s successor as chairman is grateful Kelly did “fix what was broke.”

“Jim Kelly provided brilliant leadership. He was the right person for the right job at the right time,” Bontempi said. “There are few people who have the vision, drive, determination and patience needed to lead the organization through such difficult times. We as an organization are grateful to Jim and look forward to his continued support and leadership.”