The Massachusetts native with 20 years of chamber and tourism experience in Maine and New York also has parents in nearby Fitzgerald, she said during a recent interview.
Her youngest child just started college and Glover’s husband works for an engineering firm that’s eyeing construction of cell towers in the Southeast, she said.
Glover was named Sept. 26 as the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce’s choice as its new president. She replaces Tim Martin, who headed up both the chamber and Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission until his resignation last spring.
The EDC is presently conducting a separate search for a CEO after the agency split off from the chamber. On Friday, the EDC search committee identified Mike Brooks of Zionsville, Ind., as its only finalist for that job.
Glover said she’s worked on both sides of the economic arena but prefers the “people” factor at chambers of commerce.
“Chambers are the cheerleaders of your community — they are there to help businesses succeed, to feel good, to advocate on their behalf,” she said.
President of the Greater Binghamton, N.Y., Chamber of Commerce since 2006, Glover said she’s worked with “the smallest to the largest” of businesses, from a basement quilting operation to Lockheed Martin.
Among her accomplishments in Binghamton, Glover said she’s proud of an effort called “Unshackle Upstate,” a coalition formed between six upstate New York chambers of commerce to try to reform New York business laws.
“One very significant win that our coalition had was to cut workers’ compensation costs, which in the state of New York is nearly impossible,” she said. “It was a very big win.”
Also former president of the Maine Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, “I’m a firm believe in the power of chambers working together,” Glover said.
But she’s proudest of a 501(c)3 chamber affiliate she launched called Greater Binghamton Education Outreach Program, or GBEOP.
Using existing resources such as Junior Achievement, a chamber leadership institute and on-the-job training, or OJT, GBEOP spurs dialogue between businesses, educators and youth about workforce needs, she said.
Its fourth component, called Building Bridges, offers continuing education credit for educators to go inside local industries and meet with executives and workers.
“It’s making the connection between education and business,” and the program recently was commended by New York Gov. David Paterson, Glover said.
With a start date in Albany of Nov. 10, Glover said she likes to begin by getting a feel for how the chamber and its staff work, while meeting as many business owners as possible.
The Albany Chamber’s five-star accreditation and 1,200 members, and Georgia’s “strong business climate” make Albany “a great place to leap off to,” she said.
“Georgia has a much more supportive, proactive and incentive-based opportunities for business than New York,” she said.
In an economic climate that’s tough on businesses, chambers “keep the spirit alive of the business community,” Glover said. “Yeah, it’s tough, but we’re in this together, and we’re going to get through this together.”
