Meet Molly Romig, director of membership at the Canton chamber
Molly J. Romig serves as the director of membership at the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce.
She was born and raised in Wilmot, and lives in Perry Township with her son, Richard Dakota Beard (Cody) who is 21.
Romig graduated from Fairless High School and attended R.G. Drage’s Legal Steno program and Career Studies Institute for paralegal certification. She began working in various law offices while still in high school and continued until 1988 when she went to work for David Herbert at Professional Reports & Publications as a paralegal.
Meet Vaneet Kaur:Five questions with the assistant professor at Kent State Stark
“Professional Reports & Publications published books, newsletters and calendars for attorneys and medico-legal professionals,” Romig said. “The business grew to a point that we started our own in-house print shop in 1990. The company then split into PRC Publishing, Inc. and PRC Printing Inc. PRC Printing continued to grow over the years into a full sheet fed print shop where the publishing company was only a small portion of the regular business.”
A big change came in 2011 when the print market started leaning toward digital. The print business merged with Minuteman Press and Romig continued working there in sales and graphic design.
“A year later, Denise Burton and Terri Fulmer, whom I had known for many years, told me that Terri was leaving the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and that I should consider taking that position in the membership department,” Romig said.
She added: “I was torn because I felt like I would be abandoning my printing customers, but I felt that that door had opened for a reason, and I decided to do an interview. I began working for the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce in the membership department on March 5, 2012, where I am now the director of membership.”
Romig was active with the Jackson-Belden Chamber of Commerce when she worked in printing. She served on many committees and was a board member for six years. She received the chamber’s Outstanding Volunteer award in 2001.
“I was also active with the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce on various committees and never missed a Business After Hours! I was also a member of the Lake Township and Canal Fulton Chambers of Commerce,” she said. “I was one of those people who were often asked if I worked for the chamber long before I ever did.”
Meet Danette Bosh Alexander:Five questions with associate professor of education and director of Kids' College at Stark State College
Would you describe your position with the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and some of the tasks and activities?
The main aspect of my job is new membership sales and assisting existing members with engagement and utilization of their membership through networking, advertising and other benefits.
One of your job duties includes coordinating networking groups; would you explain what those groups are?
I lead several weekly networking lunch groups that are available for members to interact with others and increase their relationship-building.
People do business with friends first. So, the more people who you know who can help you directly or refer you to someone that they know, like and trust, the more success you’ll have in both gaining business and navigating through your own personal needs.
In my many years of networking, I have made many friends and I now feel like I have a resource for virtually anything I need. That benefit is priceless.
Why do you believe participating in professional networking is important to someone’s career?
I feel that chamber membership offers a great support system through these groups – business owners and members talk about challenges they are facing and gain insight from others who may have experienced the same challenge.
Chamber membership can be a giant support group that gives you an amazing boost. I have a huge extended family that I appreciate and couldn’t exist without.
Attending tip groups regularly keeps you not only top of mind when needs are presented but allows you to hone your sales and marketing skills among friends. It also allows others to become an extended sales force on your behalf.
One of the most important aspects of networking right now after COVID and through economic downturns and general daily stressors is that being with others can impact and improve your overall mental health with less depression and overall anxiety.
Facing business challenges and simply meeting for lunch or breakfast is a positive energy boost that we all can benefit from. You know you are among allies – facing the storm together. I know that I personally look forward to seeing our members throughout the week – sometimes offering support to others – and sometimes gaining strength from them, as well. We’re all in this together and no one becomes successful alone.
We have five weekly groups:
Tuesday: Noon at Coaches Burger Bar, (old Fox and Hound) 4834 Everhard Road
Wednesday: 8 a.m. at Samantha’s North Market, 6326 Market Ave., N., North Canton; and noon at Winking Lizard Tavern, 5710 Fulton Drive NW
Thursday: 8 a.m. at Buehler’s Fresh Foods, 7138 Fulton Drive NW; and noon at La Pizzaria, 3656 Dressler Road
We order from the menu and no reservations are needed. Guests are encouraged to attend to learn more about membership and how the groups can help build your business.
In your downtime, would you rather play a game, visit a relative or friend, watch a movie or read?
I enjoy camping regularly on the weekends, and in my downtime, I simply enjoy watching a movie or doing Zumba or walking. My life is so busy and I honestly have trouble sitting still.
I wear a lot of hats in my daily job, the goal is to have a job that you don’t need a vacation from. I rarely take vacations because my role really is my life. When I do take a vacation, I honestly am always still available to anyone who has a need that I can assist with remotely.
Sometimes you need a change of scenery, and we constantly need to work on balance, but I enjoy what I do overall because I am helping others which provides me joy and satisfaction. When others are successful, then I’m successful, too.
So the harder I work, the more success others have, as well. We all need to feel needed, and I definitely know what that’s like. Our members truly appreciate what I do and that makes it worthwhile to me.
If you could share a meal with three people (living or dead), who would they be and why?
I love sharing all meals with others – whether it’s family, friends or chamber members. It’s really about the conversations and experiences and I rarely miss an opportunity to enjoy a meal with others. I could never pick just three!
Editor's note: Five questions with ... is a Sunday feature that showcases a member of the Stark County community. If you'd like to recommend someone to participate, send an email to newsroom@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Meet Molly Romig, director of membership at the Canton chamber
