Student works with organization to help area near hometown

Student works with organization to help area near hometown

Inside a charming Greek revival in historic downtown Murfreesboro, Joe Harris Jr. sits at a desk surrounded by NC Watermelon Festival signs and flyers, working on last minute tasks ahead of the festival opening later that evening. His supervisor is across the street cleaning up after the previous evening's shrimp dinner which kicked off the annual festival.

Harris is the summer project assistant for the Murfreesboro Chamber of Commerce. And, as its only full-time employee, executive director of the chamber, Daryl Williams, is grateful for the intern assistance he received through a program at East Carolina University.

"Our chamber of commerce is small. I'm a one man show, other than our board. I'm the only employee. Having someone to help leading up to our major events has been amazing," said Williams.

Harris is a junior majoring in biology with a minor in public health at ECU. He applied to be part of the SECU Public Fellows Internship (PFI) program, coordinated by the office of innovation and engagement. The program partners in-state undergraduate students with government, economic development, education and other nonprofit entities throughout eastern North Carolina to help address community-identified priorities.

He said though the position wasn't directly related to what he was studying in school, he was drawn to it because it meant he would be helping a community near his hometown of Jackson.

"It's gratifying working within my home base to make things happen for the community and the economy. I feel good that I'm a local kid able to help," said Harris.

Since 1956, the Murfreesboro Chamber of Commerce has worked to help area businesses thrive.

"From the 'mom and pops' to the national brands, or any business, we help provide them the tools to remain in Murfreesboro. If they're successful, they'll stay here. So our ultimate goal is to make sure our business community has representation and has the tools they need to remain viable and to remain successful," said Williams.

To do all that they do, the chamber holds fundraising events throughout the year. Their biggest annual event is the NC Watermelon Festival. There are many tasks for the small team.

"We threw a lot on Joe when he came," said Williams. "The summer really is our busiest time. We have our fundraisers in the summer, and that's when all our monies are coming in."

The chamber also added an additional event to their schedule.

"Our board decided to do a golf tournament. I know nothing about golf tournaments, and Joe didn't know a lot about them either. So, some of what we've been doing is research on how to do this," said Williams.

Williams put Harris in charge of creating the registration website for the tournament as well as creating the marketing material.

"I turned it all over to him - and, he learned it. He's created all of the flyers and the marketing and the QR code where people can sign up, the documents, the forms, he's done all of it. Our marketing looks great. He's done a fantastic job with it," Williams said.

"I'm not a marketing major, but I have learned a lot about this field," said Harris. "Being it's such a small town, a big part of it is word of mouth and updating the website so it's easy to find the information."

Harris said he found that he really enjoyed the web-based duties.

"Presenting information to the public in a way that connects with any audience and that is attention-grabbing, I feel like I have an interest for that kind of work now," he said.

He also learned other valuable things working for the chamber.

"Seeing how a chamber runs, it's more than just sitting at the desk. You're working to collect membership, networking with those in the business district and working with them face-to-face, growing those relationships," Harris said.

Having been part of the PFI program for five years, Williams has been amazed by each student he's worked with and is appreciative of the partnership.

"It's a win-win for us and a great experience for the students. This is an internship-mentorship. Joe's major and career goals don't have a lot to do with what the chamber does, but it does have a lot to do with creating relationships with your community partners," he said.

"One day when Joe is in the medical field and decides to open his own business instead of working in a hospital, he's got some of what he would need to make his business successful. Any nonprofit or any business that partners with students, you could be giving them skills they may not need right away, but you're giving them skills they will one day use," said Williams.

Having gained firsthand insight into the effort and support required for a nonprofit to make a difference in the community, Harris believes others should contribute where they can.

"We don't have the people to chase the grants like a larger city would - it's a hometown effort. We need people to return to areas like this to work or to intern and help businesses grow," he said.

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