The Rach(a)els: BV Chamber led by two women with passion to help business community excel

By: 
Gracie Terrall, Journal intern

Gracie Terrall/BV Journal 

The Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce is led by two women who share the same first name. Rachel Polan (left) is the business’ social media and communications coordinator and Rachael Polan is the executive director.

 

When you call the chamber, you will 100 percent of the time get Rach(a)el.”

That’s what Rachael Neiman, executive director of the Brandon Valley Chamber of Commerce, joked about her and Communications Coordinator Rachel Polan. 

Neiman and Polan are the two-woman show running the chamber, and just happen to share the same first name. Polan said there has been some confusion over the double Rach(a)el’s, but because the two have such different jobs, things seem to sort themselves out. 

“A lot of times, when we answer the phone we get, ‘What Rach(a)el am I talking to?’ Sometimes people just launch into it when I answer the phone, and they’re talking about something I have no idea about,” Polan said. “I go, ‘Excuse me, sorry, I don’t want to interrupt, but I believe you chatted with the other Rachael.’ It’s usually not too big of a mishap, but there have been some ‘wrong person, one sec’ moments.”

Polan started with the Chamber in July 2019 as the business’ social media and communications coordinator. She graduated with a bachelors in journalism from Augustana University two months prior.   

Polan’s main job at the chamber is handing out new resident welcome bags, advertising, answering the phone, provides resources to business members, and running the chamber’s social media platforms. 

“We didn’t have a lot of social media presence before Rachel Polan came on,” Amanda Starzl of First Dakota National Bank and past board chair said. “We weren’t really diving in and utilizing it as much as we could. Rachel has done a lot to grow our presence in the community.”

Neiman started at the company in October 2019 as the membership manager. In December of that year, her position quickly changed, as she assumed the role of interim executive director before eventually stepping into the role permanently. 

“It was really exciting to find a position that I knew I would love and still be able to work in the community that I lived in and be closer to my kids,” she said. “The beauty of it is I don’t necessarily feel like it’s been a job, but I feel like it’s been a way for me to meet so many people in Brandon.”

Neiman works with the board of directors and committees – all volunteer members – to develop business marketing ideas and promotions to improve membership, organizes numerous chamber events and educates new business owners and organization reps on how the chamber can benefit them.

“Rachael has such charismatic energy and people are just drawn to her because of that,” Starzl said. “She’s really passionate about the relationship side of the chamber … She does such a great job connecting with each and every member and really going out of her way to show them what kind of value they can get out of their membership.”

Whether it’s Rachael Neiman or Rachel Polan, both of the Rach(a)el’s are working to make the chamber, businesses and community member of Brandon a better place to live.

Category:

The Brandon Valley Journal

 

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