Guest Blog: Board of Directors Chair, Keith Carter

The Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome guest blogger, Keith Carter. Keith is the 2018 Chamber Board of Directors Chair. To learn more about Keith and his plans for 2018 read below. And stay tuned for more!

“On my honor, I will do my best ….”, “A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, …”, and “Be Prepared”. The Boy Scout Oath, Law, and Motto … Phrases and lists that I can recite even to this day. Why? Because our Scoutmaster, not only taught us these important Boy Scout elements, but showed us how to live these in our day-to-day lives.  Even though I no longer can fit into my Boy Scout uniform.  My life has forever been influenced by the experiences and teachings I encountered on my trail to becoming an Eagle Scout.

As I began to prepare to step into the role as your Board Chair for 2018, I began to reflect on my growing up in Robinson, my time in Vincennes, and most recently, my family’s time in Terre Haute.  All I could think about is how lucky we are to live in the Wabash Valley, the Midwest, or whatever one decides to label this area of our country.  The freedoms we have as Americans and the opportunities provided to us and our children are from years of hard work and dedication to hopes and dreams that shaped our Nation.

The Boy Scout Motto … Be Prepared … is a simple yet powerful combination of 2 words.  A motto that I have focused on in raising our four sons.  Be Prepared.  It seems simple enough.  So why not have a motto for the Chamber?  Of course, we have a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement, but I am thinking of even something similar than “Building business. Building community”.  A simple phrase that will connects what we are doing now, today, this year.  Something like … Be RELEVANT … why not? I like it!

I challenge each and every one of you to follow with me as I use the word RELEVANT to explore the role we are taking in our community, state, and nation.  Who’s with me? Stay tuned ….