Denise Day couldn’t be more excited about her new job as executive director of the Indianola Chamber of Commerce. She loves her hometown and has always been quick to talk about it to anyone willing to listen. Now, she’s getting paid to do just that.

What does your new position entail?

My role will be first of all to promote Indianola and its businesses. I will work to provide local businesses with opportunities to market themselves. In the past, I was the events manager, so I really got to know a lot of the people in town and their companies. So the transition will be easy. But we really want to concentrate this next year on bringing synergy to the town. We have lots of different committees, boards and organizations that are all trying to promote Indianola. I’d like to find a way that we can all work together. That’s where I see where we can fit in.

Why did you want this position?

Working as the events manager for the last year and a half, I just really loved the energy that the chamber has. I grew up here, my children go to school here and my husband and I have always been active in the community, so this just seemed like a really natural fit.

What would you say is the best part of your job?

Being able to have a job that enables me to be creative, and working with so many different parts of Indianola.

What were you doing before you came to the chamber?

I was a preschool teacher and a high school volleyball coach. I really spent the last 14 years organizing things so I could work in the evenings and stay home with my children during the day. As they got older, I was able to add more work during the day. I was born in Albuquerque, N.M. But I did start kindergarten here, so I was raised in Indianola. My dad worked for Iowa Power and Light, and that brought him to this area. I really connect with this area. I lived in Texas briefly but came back, and you’ll find that a lot in Indianola. When you’re a kid and you just get out of school, you want to leave, but if you’re lucky you come back.

What skills do you feel you bring to the job?

I have a lot of energy. I’m a good communicator. I kind of like to think large. If we have an idea, we’re going to figure out a way to make it happen. And most of all, I know and love Indianola.

What do you see as your biggest challenge in this position?

In any job, you can’t please everybody all the time. I imagine it’s providing a chamber that satisfies every need of every business. We’re really working hard on that. We’ve restructured our dues and we’re going to try to restructure our marketing tactics for our member businesses. So trying to find that balance where it helps everybody equally is probably the biggest challenge.

What was the worst job you’ve ever had?

I entered claims for Blue Cross Blue Shield. There’s not much talking that goes on in those rooms, and that was killing me. I got in trouble all the time and I lasted just long enough to get one week’s vacation. When I left for the vacation, my supervisor, who I loved, looked at me and said “You’re not coming back, are you?” I said, “Just so we’re straight on that…no.” It was hard. This suits me much better.

Where would people find you on the weekend?

Probably watching my son play basketball or coaching my daughter’s volleyball team.

Do you play volleyball?

I played in high school and intramurals in college. I continued to play coed as an adult. But last year I retired. My kids keep me pretty busy now.

What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Find something that you love to do, because you’re trading eight hours of your life every day to do it. It has to be something that you enjoy. I’ve been very fortunate all my life. I’ve done lots of really great things and I kind of feel like I’ve tried everything. If I’ve wanted to do it, I’ll go out and try it. When I came back to Iowa after living in Texas, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I worked at KIOA and did “This is Denise Day from KIOA traffic center.” That was really fun. Almost every job I’ve had has been a really neat creative outlet. But this is definitely it. This job combines all the great aspects from all the other things I’ve done. So, I feel like I’m really lucky.

– Jason Hancock