Grimes' Best Dressed goes from marketing to music
In January 2023, Grimes County’s “Best Dressed Businessman” for five years running will trade his suit and tie for something a little more casual. Navasota Grimes County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Johnny McNally is retiring after seven years and plans to spend this next phase of life with wife Lisé, doing what brought them together in the first place – making music!
The New Orleans born McNally was raised in Houston, and his previous professional experience includes working at law firms in New York City and Los Angeles. He moved to Navasota in 2005 and served as the Marketing Manager at ErgoGenesis, manufacturer of BodyBilt Ergonomic Chairs, before taking on the mantle of chamber executive director.
A game plan
A chamber board member while at ErgoGenesis, McNally was well-versed in chamber activities and had developed relationships with numerous area organizations such as United Way of the Brazos Valley, Navasota ISD Education Foundation, Christian Community Services Center, Brazos Valley Jazz Society, the Navasota Economic Development Corporation, Central East Texas Alliance, Navasota Noon Lions Club and Grimes County Crime Stoppers.
It was after the chamber’s yearlong unsuccessful search for an executive director that McNally submitted his name and was hired July 1, 2015.
McNally said, “Immediately, I had to get things running. We had a golf tournament on the horizon and membership renewals. Once I got through all that, we held our first board retreat. That’s when we laid out a game plan of how we can improve services to members, how we can grow membership and make the chamber more valuable to our members and how we can incorporate more events to bring in tourism. We had a budget gap and we were trying to fill that too.”
Enhancing member services, tourism
While McNally continued existing member activities such as the Chamber Mixer and Business Expo, he modernized the operation by switching to an electronic monthly newsletter, upgraded the computer systems and enhanced the website. He also began what has grown into a popular networking event, Coffee With the Chamber.
On the tourism side, in 2018 the Chamber hosted its first Groovy Grapes Wine Walk to attract “spring shoppers.”
McNally said, “It proved to be such a success that we started Reds, Wheats & Blues. That came about after the Blues Fest ended its run. We wanted to continue the blues legacy in Navasota. We did a Cinco de Mayo festival, which was out of the blue, but I wanted to do something to include that segment of our population. I thought it was successful and I believe we plan on doing that again next year with Lucy (Ybarra) in charge.”
According to McNally, the monthly bus tours which focus on historical sites in Grimes County, continue to bring in visitors and tourist dollars, and the Chamber Academy Lunch & Learn sessions benefit both the public and business members.
To insure inclusiveness, McNally attended city council meetings in Anderson, Bedias and Iola and made efforts to host more events outside of Navasota - such as the Business Expo, chamber board retreat, a breakfast with State Rep. Ben Leman and numerous ribbon cuttings.
He said, “The chamber board makeup always contains at least one person outside in the county but normally, it has several members on the board who are not from Navasota.”
All mayors are ex-officio board members and receive weekly updates sent to board members.
The EDC side
At the suggestion of former City of Navasota Economic Development Director Sarah Korpita, McNally submitted a proposal to Grimes County to do economic development work.
McNally continued, “We were already doing work toward economic development. It was a natural progression and it made sense that we would work with the County. It’s only a twopage contract but it spells out what the expectations are, benchmarks I’m supposed to hit each year, and I report to them every quarter and give an update.”
During McNally’s tenure, Navasota’s annual State of the City address was broadened to include year-in-review highlights from NISD, Grimes County and a regional speaker.
Working with CETA (Central East Texas Alliance) a regional economic development organization, McNally arranged for several events to be held in Navasota or nearby areas.
Filling a need
Despite the success of events like Coffee With the Chamber and enhancing other events, McNally considers the ability to provide rapid-read covid testing for member businesses as a “major accomplishment.”
He said, “Up to that point, if they had someone who was sick, the guidelines were to shut down your whole business. So, by us able to offer 15-minute rapid-read tests free to our members - something the Governor’s office created for chambers of commerce to do - we were able to do that and keep our businesses afloat.”
He continued, “We did more than 700 tests during that time period and we were the only testing facility. It highlighted what the chamber of commerce can do in times of need for small businesses. We stepped in to fill a role that no one else was able to do.”
Rewarding work
McNally said, “People want to know that the chamber of commerce remains relevant in this modern world. I believe that we do and we take great strides to make sure that is the case.”
McNally cited the relevancy of the chamber when it was formed 107 years ago, then during World War II when it helped “mobilize goods and materials for the war effort,” and in the more robust years which followed.
He continued, “It’s always changing. I feel like we’ve done our part over the last seven years to make sure we’re still relevant in the lives of our businesses.”
As for the chamber board, McNally said, “They’ve been very supportive the entire time I’ve been here. They’ve been great to work with. It’s been a great job. I think it’s been very rewarding, probably the most rewarding job I’ve had during my working life and I really feel very fortunate to have held that position for that many years.”