Kelly Hall, center, participates in a panel discussion during a Leadership Longview meeting Thursday, November 12, 2020, at LeTourneau University. (Les Hassell/News-Journal Photo)

To understand what makes Kelly Hall a great leader is to understand her roots and her mentors.

It started with her parents. Hall, the chief executive officer of the Longview Chamber of Commerce, then took life-lessons from leaders she worked with all over the country and here in East Texas.

“They have wisdom and willingness to tell it like it is. They are humble. They care about people. I think that is a gift,” Hall said.

Some people curl up and hide when faced with problems. That has not been the case in Longview for the membership of the chamber thanks to Hall’s leadership.

“As leaders, we have to encourage people to come out of that position. That’s when we are strongest. Together, if we are aligned and we are unified, we can take on the world,” Hall said. “We have to challenge processes. Until we understand how to move forward, we cannot do it. We must encourage and empower each other to be better,” she continued.

“If we care about people, then we will face those problems that are in front of us. It’s not about me, it’s about we,” she added.

The Longview Chamber of Commerce’s motto, “Leading People. Leading prosperity” is one that Hall takes to heart.

“We’re the quarterback of the community … leading the charge and shining the light on what other organizations and businesses do,” she said.

“We’re telling the story of Longview, and I think Longview has a great story to tell,” Hall said.

“What’s the equalizing force (in society)? It is education,” she emphasized.

“That’s why we work with various organizations, to make sure that we have a larger lens,” she said. Partnerships and collaboration ensure the chamber has good data about area businesses and the larger community.

The chamber has collaborated with the East Texas Advanced Manufacturing Academy, which provides training in electrical and precision machining technology for high school students, as well as training and retraining for adults.

In addition, chamber members have continued mentoring Ware Elementary students despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Mentoring occurs digitally, through videoconferencing apps, rather than in person.

These efforts take dedication, commitment and time.

“You don’t conquer the world in one day. You start by taking one step forward and going up together,” said Hall, who joined the chamber in 2005.

She was recruited from the Greenville, Texas, chamber by Lester Lucy, then president of Longview’s BancorpSouth, now president of its southwest region.

Hall heads a team of seven at the Longview chamber, which has more than 1,000 members.

“We focus on ensuring we have a business climate that allows people to live their dreams and prosper. We are building a community for the next generation,” she said.

The chamber is an advocate for business, building relationships at local, state, and national levels, because many companies do not have the resources for that, Hall said.

“We want to have a business environment that allows us to attract and retain employees so our businesses can thrive. The way we do that is our strategic plan: REACH,” she said.

REACH developed from the chamber’s analysis of Longview’s economic environment, its strength and weaknesses and the business community’s needs. It stands for Redevelopment, Education, Advocacy, Collaboration and Health, according to the chamber’s website.

REACH aims “to support existing businesses while continuing to promote an environment that creates jobs and improves the quality of life in Longview,” the website explains.

The chamber is “100 percent funded by businesses. … Companies who believe in the free-market system, who believe in capitalism, support the chamber,” Hall said. These are small businesses run by one person to large organizations such as Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center, with 2,600 employees.

Hall grew up in the business world.

“My father was a bank president. My mother was a college business professor. I was taught to use my brain, my talents, and apply them to my life,” she said.

“We worked as a family. Even on vacation, we were doing. We were not a sitting family,” Hall continued.

“My dad always told me I was built for business. … I can pull information together and formulate an action plan,” Hall said. Not everyone can do that, her father said.

For Hall, home is Guthrie, Oklahoma, where she graduated high school. She has two bachelors’ degrees, both focused on merchandizing, from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a master’s degree in strategic leadership from LeTourneau University.

In 1986, she was a wholesale liquidator, opening outlet stores. She wanted to do more, but she was a young single mother amid a recession. It was difficult for women to break into executive leadership.

However, Hall’s knack for business and a mentor named Wanda Cantrell – then head of the Midwest City Chamber of Commerce in Oklahoma, now retired – helped her enter the chamber management field. She was executive director of the Claremore Chamber of Commerce before moving to head the Greenville chamber in 1991.

Hall’s other mentors are John Brewer, president and CEO of the Billings, Montana, chamber; Dave Kilby, president and CEO of the Western Association of Chamber Executives; and Chris Wallace, president and CEO of the North Texas Commission, a regional public-private partnership based in Irving.