A mother and daughter want to help strengthen the business communities in Sandwich and Plano.
Kaley Letcher was recently named the new executive director of the Sandwich Area Chamber of Commerce. She is the daughter of Tiffany Forristall, who last year was named the executive director of the Plano Area Chamber of Commerce.
Letcher started May 20 and she is a 2017 graduate of Sandwich High School.
“I’ve always loved Sandwich,” Letcher said. “People here take time to support each other and be there for each other.”
Understandably, Forristall is proud of what her daughter has accomplished.
“This is a great opportunity for her and I know she’ll do great,” she said.
Those who attend the Sandwich Area Chamber’s monthly Lunch & Learn event on June 20 will have the chance to meet Letcher. The event will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sandwich Park District office, 1001 N. Latham St., Sandwich.
Attendance is free and lunch is $10. To register, go to the Chamber’s website at sandwichilchamber.org.
“I want to build a stronger bridge between the communities and make sure people know the importance of the chamber and what we do.”
— Kaley Letcher, executive director of the Sandwich Area Chamber of Commerce
Letcher is very familiar with what Chamber organizations do. She assisted her mom when she was the membership coordinator at the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m very community driven and I want to show people that,” Letcher said. “I just really want to make sure that I’m being an asset to the business members, to the community and just being an asset as a whole. These business members can obviously help me learn and tell me what I can do to be the best asset for them.”
She has been meeting with Chamber members to find out their wants and needs. The Sandwich Area Chamber of Commerce doesn’t serve just businesses in Sandwich.
The Chamber also has members from Yorkville, DeKalb, Sycamore and Plano.
“I want to build a stronger bridge between the communities and make sure people know the importance of the Chamber and what we do,” Letcher said. “Some people want to see a face of the Chamber and that’s me. And I want to make sure I’m going into businesses and helping as much as I can and making sure that we’re getting their needs met. If they have any questions or concerns, I always have an open door policy.”
Letcher has already met with Don Aleksy, Sandwich’s new economic development and tourism director.
“We have already talked about different ways we can collaborate together,” she said.
And she believes that the fact her mother is executive director of the Plano Area Chamber of Commerce will strengthen the bond between Plano and Sandwich.
Her mother agreed.
“I think it just shows that we want to work together,” Forristall said. “It’s important for neighboring towns to work together. It’s a great way to collaborate a little more and just work together.”