Photo by Erin Nelson.
Lisa Christopher stands in front of a wall displaying the cover of the “Vestavia Hills Living” magazine that she has overseen since the first issue at the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce. Christopher retired from the chamber after working there since 1997, both as a volunteer and paid employee.
At the 40th annual I Love America Night this past June, Lisa Christopher bopped around Wald Park in the fashion she’s grown accustomed to in her almost three decades of involvement with the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce. She chatted with sponsors and patrons of the booths, connected several people who needed to know each other, took photos of Vestavia Belles and bouncy houses, put out several small would-be fires, and got lots and lots of steps in as she bolted from one end of the park to the other for hours.
It was a big night for the chamber and for Christopher. As a member of the four-member committee who hired former Chamber President Karen Odle 20 years ago, she reminisced about the end of an era as Mayor Ashley Curry honored Odle for her service and wished her well in retirement. Things were also wrapping up, in a way, for Christopher. She’s stepping away from the role she’s held as the membership and marketing consultant for 18 years. A member of the chamber and an active volunteer since donning a hairnet and selling BBQ at I Love America Night in 1995, Christopher accepted Odle’s offer of the paid role in 2004, utilizing experience from her past tenure as the chair of the board and her professional experience as a public relations director. Together, Christopher and Odle watched the chamber grow its membership from a couple hundred members to now more than 1,100 members.
Christopher says she viewed her task of attracting new members as just the beginning of a long, mutually beneficial relationship. “I take a lot of pride in stepping in the shoes of our members and helping them engage in what the Chamber has to offer to them specifically. I walk new members through how to use the benefits and get to know them in the process. Being part of so many committees over the years gives me insight into where people would really enjoy being,” she said.
She got her first taste of leadership in 1997 when she co-chaired Free Enterprise Day, an event that brought business owners and professionals to the high school to speak about their careers. In 1998 she joined the board and started and chaired the ambassador committee, which serves members and guests at luncheons, ribbon cuttings and other chamber events. The year after she was chair of the board, Christopher served as chair of the chamber foundation, which funds scholarships for future leaders. She was integral in the start of Viva Vestavia, a wine and cheese-tasting fundraiser that still goes on today.
She graduated from Leadership Vestavia Hills in 2000. That relationship continued into her tenure as chair of the board in 2001. The chamber had overseen Community Leadership Awards, but Christopher saw that the mission of Leadership Vestavia Hills was more in line with the awards given to honor lifetime achievement and distinguished citizenship. The chamber transitioned the awards to Leadership Vestavia Hills, where it continues today.
“As chair, I always tried to keep in mind what other organizations were doing to see how we could support each other and not step on each other’s toes,” Christopher said.
One of her biggest sources of pride from her chair year was the chamber’s adoption of the Partners in Education program. The chamber acts as a conduit from the schools to the business owners and professionals who donate goods and services to the schools.
“The schools are the crown jewel of Vestavia Hills. The synergy between our citizens supporting our businesses and our businesses supporting our schools is vital. It’s all interconnected,” Christopher said.
She relates a story of one member who paid for Children’s Village, a nonprofit that offers a temporary home for children who have been orphaned or have broken family relationships, to join the chamber.
“This member saw that Children’s Village could benefit from being part of what we do. At Christmas one year another of our members, a women’s clothing retailer, brought all the Children’s Village girls to her shop and outfitted them all with new clothes. That’s the power of bringing people together,” she said.
The board recently named Odle and Christopher lifetime members. They join former mayor Sara Wuska and longtime volunteer Dot Cook as the only lifetime members.
“I am immensely proud and grateful for the honor,” Christopher said. “I’ve been fortunate to meet so many excellent business owners, all willing to lend a hand and make our community better. The chamber is a big part of who I am, and I will still be around. I don’t see myself ever slowing down with being part of the mission.”
Christopher is currently training new Chamber of Commerce Director Michelle Hawkins. She will continue to sell ads for the chamber’s magazine, Vestavia Hills Living, which she has done since the early 2000s. After years of burning the candle at both ends, she plans to spend more time with her sons and grandson, who just turned one year old.
“I have had a habit of filling any open space on my calendar with some kind of work,” she said. “Anyone who knows me will laugh when I say this, but I am now going to try to leave those spaces open.”
