Excited for opportunity

She was born and raised in Jay County.

She loves Jay County.

And she’s thrilled to be the new leader of its chamber of commerce.

Tabby Sprunger will begin her tenure as Jay County Chamber of Commerce’s executive director Monday.

“I am so excited,” said Sprunger, adding that she appreciated the response to last week’s announcement of her hiring. “I’m so grateful for all the support. The way the community poured out was incredible. It really made a girl feel good. … I’m just super excited. I really am.”

That excitement is one of the reasons the board felt Sprunger was the right choice for the job, said chamber president Scott Manwaring.

“Tabby is high energy,” he said. “She’s focused on customer service. She’s deeply involved in the Jay County community … She’s in agreement with the board of directors on the direction the chamber needs to take to support our members. And she’s got the leadership skills to do it.”

Sprunger, who worked for the past year as the office manager at Carrera Manufacturing. becomes the chamber’s third executive director in less than a year. Dean Sanders ended a five-and-a-half-year run at the helm in June to become marketing director for Home Health Angels of Winchester. Carey Cook then held the role from August through mid-December. Chamber board members have been working together to fulfill the duties of the position since then.

Manwaring noted that the board has spent the bulk of the last year evaluating its priorities as an organization and what it wants from its executive director. No. 1 on that list is to support and grow the chamber membership.

Beyond that, it’s fulfilling the chamber’s four core values:

•Community engagement through partnership with businesses and organizations

•Being an advocate for chamber members

•Providing services to meet the needs of the business community

•Offering education and training opportunities

When she gets the chance, Sprunger is also looking forward to getting out and meeting the chamber members.

“One of my big things … is relationships,” said the Portland resident. “I am big on building relationships. … I think in this position especially, that is my No. 1 goal, to just build those relationships with the members and the community.”

Before Carrera, Sprunger spent seven years with Brigade Electronics, the last two-and-a-half as its operations manager. She has also been an instructor for Judan Judo for more than a decade. A 2001 Jay County High School graduate, she went on to earn an associate’s degree in business administration from Ivy Tech Community College in 2005.

Her duties with the chamber will be a little different than normal at the start, given the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for small businesses. She’ll be working to provide support to members in any way she can, including getting to know the details about available Small Business Administration Loans and the changes to the Family Medical Leave Act.

When things get back to normal, one of her first tasks will be to put plans back in motion for the Jay County Community Awards that were scheduled for last week but had to be postponed.

Though Monday will be her first day in her new job, she won’t quite be in her new office yet. Following Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order, the chamber office is closed through the end of next week.

But, she’ll be available at [email protected] as she acquaints herself with her new job while working from home.

And she’s looking forward to helping the businesses and residents in the community she’s passionate about.

“My husband always says nobody likes Jay County more than me,” Sprunger said. “I just love the community … I really feel like we care about each other.”