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02/24/2016 07:30 AMEver since she was five years old, Pat Iwaniw has loved art and design. She knew that she wanted a career that allowed her to use her creativity and studied graphic design at Paier College of Art in New Haven.
She spent several decades working as a graphic designer at large companies before her last job was outsourced. In October 2015, she was hired as the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce’s communications and administrative assistant.
“I was familiar with the Greater New Haven Chamber and had done some work for them in the past,” says Pat. “It’s been great here. I love the diversity of the different jobs I do. There’s never a dull moment and I enjoy that.”
At the Quinnipiac Chamber, with its office in Wallingford, Pat answers phone calls, attends Business After Hours events, and collects money and RSVPs for events, as well as other administrative duties. She also uses her graphic design experience to work on in-house promotions, flyers, and advertising.
The Quinnipiac Chamber serves North Haven and Wallingford, as well as surrounding towns. The mission of the Chamber, according to its website quinncham.com is, “to make the connections that make positive things happen for business and the community at large.” The Quinnipiac Chamber has more than 550 members and Pat is enjoying forming new relationships and seeing networking benefit businesses firsthand.
“I’ve always had good rapport with the people I’ve worked with—advertisers, business people,” says Pat. “I’m starting to get to know faces and connect names to faces. Through networking, business owners now know who to contact when they have a need and hopefully reciprocate with each other.”
In addition to the Business After Hours, the Quinnipiac Chamber hosts a variety of presentations and networking groups, as well as special events. Pat notes several upcoming big events, including North Haven First Selectman Mike Freda’s State of the Town address on Friday, Feb. 26, the Chamber’s “Big Score” sports-themed business expo on April 28, the annual meeting, and the Women’s Achievement Awards. While the Chamber hosts a number of events itself, it also promotes events that its members hold.
“Our members send us information on their events and we try to promote the events as much as we can,” says Pat. “I want to try to help as much as I can and do anything I can to help the Chamber grow.”
Pat, who grew up in New Haven and has lived in North Haven for more than 20 years, also helps promote new businesses. When new businesses open, the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce helps promote the event. Pat creates press releases and helps schedule grand-opening festivities that include ribbon cuttings and visits from the mayor or first selectman.
“We have a great salesperson who is active in recruiting new businesses to join the Chamber and our executive director is active in promoting new members and welcoming them,” says Pat, who enjoys concerts and craft projects. “It’s a big highlight for us when there are more businesses opening up, especially because it can be a struggle for a lot of businesses.”
Pat is enjoying many aspects of her new job from building new relationships to the diversity of her work to her working environment. Having worked at large companies in the past, the Chamber’s four-person office is a change of pace.
“It’s different to be in a smaller atmosphere, but it’s a great group of people and the people we partner with are great. I heard that even before I started working here—‘You’re going to love them’,” says Pat. “Now I’m hearing from a lot of people, ‘You guys throw great events.’ We put a lot of time and effort into it, so it gets crazy at times, but it gets done and the outcome is wonderful.”
For more information on the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, visit quinncham.com.