Chamber boss celebrated on 20th anniversary
Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce President Shelly Kemp got a brief startle this week when she walked into the office to start the day and was unexpectedly greeted by staff and members applauding her two decades of work with the organization.
“I was totally surprised,” said Kemp. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Cheerful and gregarious, Kemp — who was born, raised and still lives in Royal Oak — remembers her first day working for the chamber.
“It was May 5, 2003,” she said. “I was brought in as the event person and I think it was five days before Royal Oak in Bloom, a giant family tradition … It was definitely a trial by fire.”
Within seven years Kemp was head of the chamber, which has more than 500 business members.
Her knack for keeping
her good spirits through good times and bad is noticed and appreciated, said Jason Gittinger, owner of the Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music in Royal Oak.
Gittinger, former chair of the chamber’s board of directors, said Kemp took
the helm as president during the Great Recession and most recently faced the economic challenges of the pandemic.
“She’s led us through two financial calamities,” Gittinger said, “and she’s really connected to the community here.”
Except for two years living in Los Angeles after college, Kemp has lived in Royal Oak and raised her son, Charlie, 23, here.
“In Royal Oak she is probably one of the most impactful business leaders in town,” Gittinger said.
He added that her commitment to the community and chamber members and events is impressive.
“She’s spent the last 20 Mother’s Days in the streets helping bring a great community event (Royal Oak in Bloom) to all the mothers and families here and beyond,” Gittinger said.
At Tuesday’s celebration, Alan Kroll, chamber board chairman, noted that the organization over the several decades before Kemp’s arrival had a number of people who served as president.
None of them lasted beyond three or four years.
“The fact that she has lasted so long speaks to her commitment and steadfast leadership,” Gittinger said.
Kemp credits her fellow chamber staff members — such as Heather Zeller, director of events and communications, Christine Perez Thompson, senior director of membership, and bookkeeper Mandy Johnson — with keeping the chamber vital and relevant to local businesses.
“They have all been here from seven to 19 years,” Kemp said. “They know our area backward and forward.”
That experience shows in making connections with and between the community and local business owners in town.
“You’re not going to find a bigger supporter of our community than Shelly,” Zeller said. “In every decision she makes she considers how it’s going to affect the people who live and do business here come here to play.”
Most business chamber members have from one to nine employees. Since the advent of the tech era and social media, Kemp sees different kinds of chamber members. In earlier times, the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce was the only game in town for business groups. But now there are myriad ways for businesses to connect through social media and web-based groups.
“After COVID there are more startups and solo entrepreneurs,” Kemp said. “There’s a lot of competition between (brick-andmortar) businesses and Amazon, and we need to keep people coming to our downtown to shop and dine.”
The chamber reaches out to the community with downtown events like Royal Oak in Bloom, coming up May 14, the outdoor Summer Concert series on Thursdays on Center Street, and a new music event called Royal Oak Live coming June 24 and 25 at the Centennial Commons downtown park.
“We hired a musical director and there’s going to be jazz, R&B, funk and soul” musical performers, Kemp said.