Alexis Harmon returned to Wayne County expecting it to be temporary, but her work at the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce changed her perspective on what it means to build a career close to home. In this episode, she talks with Kate about authentic marketing, creating a student job portal that connects local high school seniors with employers, and why investing in young professionals is helping shape the future of the community. Enjoy!
Transcript
Alexis Harmon: I’m Alexis Harmon of the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce.
Kate Jetmore: From Civic Spark Media and the Western Wayne News in Wayne County, Indiana, I’m Kate Jetmore. As a native of Richmond, Indiana, I’m excited to be sitting down with some of our neighbors and listening to the stories that define our community.
My guest today is Alexis Harmon, who serves as the marketing and communications specialist at the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce. Born and raised in Centerville, Indiana, she continued her education at Indiana University Bloomington, earning a Bachelor of Arts in advertising management. Following graduation, Alexis returned home to begin her professional career at the Chamber, where she focuses on marketing, communications, and telling the stories of local businesses and organizations throughout Wayne County.
Welcome, Alexis. I’m so glad you could join me on the show.
Alexis Harmon: Yeah, thank you for having me.
Kate Jetmore: Let’s start with your decision to come back here after graduating from IU. What was it that drew you back to the area?
Alexis Harmon: Honestly, it was not my original plan. So going to Bloomington, I always thought I’m going to get out of Wayne County. I’m going to go move to a big city, all of those things. And then sometimes life hits you right in the face.
Kate Jetmore: You’re right.
Alexis Harmon: You’re like, “Oh my gosh, what am I going to do now that I’ve spent my four years and what’s my next plan?” And I gave myself the parameters that, if I didn’t have a job lined up when my lease was up in Bloomington, I would move back home and get my bearings a little bit. My mom always said, “As long as we’re here, you’ve got a place with us.” And I sure did take advantage of that situation. I was like, “Congrats, Mom. I’m coming back.” But since I’ve been back and I got my job at the Chamber, it’s opened my eyes up more in the sense that it’s not bad being here. I feel like people sometimes have that notion that if you go to college and then you have to come back, it’s kind of like, “Okay, well what was the point?” But through the Chamber especially and being more involved in the community, it’s definitely opened my eyes to see there’s more than what you might think here and I’m loving it. I’m having a good time. I like my job. I like the people I work with. It’s been great.
Kate Jetmore: That’s wonderful. Well, I want to circle back to some of those specifics about life in the area and what it is that you’re seeing and maybe also what it is that you’re not seeing. But let’s talk first about marketing, your field, marketing and design. Tell us a little bit about how you became interested in that and how it has evolved.
Alexis Harmon: Yeah. So actually it’s a funny story, but I think I’ve always been interested in it. I just didn’t know how to put a name to what I was interested in. So when I was younger, I would make presentations not for school, that was not a class requirement. I just thought it was fun to research a topic and then put it into a presentation that I thought looked really cool and looked fun and that people would like to see. And I think at its core, that’s essentially marketing. And so it’s just funny that even when I was in fourth grade, I was like, “This is so awesome.”
Kate Jetmore: Yeah, yeah. It sounds like you found your field in a very organic way.
Alexis Harmon: Yeah. And I mean, that always just continued as I was in high school. My favorite classes were always an art class or a web design. And as I was going into college, I was like, “This is the only thing I can see myself doing.” And it stuck and I have so much fun learning more about marketing because I feel like it’s one of those things that it’s never ending on new things to learn and that’s something I love about it.
Kate Jetmore: What about for our listeners out there and honestly for me too, what do you wish that more people understood about marketing and design, especially given all the noise out there, all the content out there and that crowded information landscape where everyone is trying to get their message out, what do you wish people understood?
Alexis Harmon: Yeah. I mean, I think people assume that it’s just posting on social media. You have a Canva graphic that you found a template for and then you say, “Okay, let’s post it on Facebook.” And it’s so much more than that. You have to understand what your audience cares about and then take that information and put it out in a way that they are going to want to hear. And so I think right now, especially just you could scroll on Facebook for five minutes and you’ll probably see an AI post. And so I mean, it’s hard to get around some of that, but I think people know when you’re being authentic and actually mean what you’re trying to put out there. So I think that’s such a big part of it, especially in a smaller community like Wayne County, is people want to know that you actually care about what you’re saying.
Kate Jetmore: Yes, yes. And I have to share that’s part of what this show is about. We want to literally showcase the voices of our community. So I’ll just say thank you again for joining me today, because I’m so excited to bring your voice to our viewers.
Let’s talk a little bit more specifically about your role at the Chamber of Commerce. And you’ve already said the word fun in connection with marketing and design, so tell us what it is you enjoy most about your job.
Alexis Harmon: Yeah. I think honestly, the part that I enjoy most about my job is that I’m not stuck in one singular marketing box because marketing is more than just social media. It’s more than just your website, things like that. And I think sometimes in a larger organization or a more corporate type setting, especially in an entry level role, you get put into a little bit of a box, like you are just the social media girl or you’re just the email girl. And being at the Chamber and being a part of a smaller team, I get to be all of those girls and that is one of the best parts about it is I get to dip my toe in so many different things and it keeps things exciting. And like I said, I get to keep learning new things. I mean, I came into the job being good at some things and then I’ve learned more.
Kate Jetmore: Yeah. It sounds like every day is different and there is an opportunity for learning and growing in the context of a full-time job.
In our exchange as we were scheduling this interview, you mentioned a project that’s close to your heart, which is called the SFS Portal, the Student Future Success Portal. So what can you share with us about creating that?
Alexis Harmon: Yeah. So late last year the high school diploma requirements for Indiana had changed and our six schools came together and decided that they needed a liaison almost for employers because it’s going to be a lot of work-based learning hours that is required out of these students. And so Shawntel Baker is our Director of Employer Engagement who is that liaison. And as they were having these conversations, there was a need for a database of sorts to keep everything organized and Shawntel will be the first to tell you she’s not the most technologically savvy of the people out there.
And so she brought me in on those conversations to say, “Well, what do you think about these kinds of things? Do you think this would work?” And I was like, “We need to just make a list of what we do need and what you want.” And so then with that list, I was like, “Well, actually I think I could do that. I think I could make that.” And it took a lot of hard work, but we did it. We finally got it up and running and it was something that was so out of my normal area. And it’s just been so cool to see that I can step outside of the box a little bit and it can still be successful and it’s been really cool to see. I mean, we’ve got students in the portal getting positions accepted and-
Kate Jetmore: And what is the portal? How does it work?
Alexis Harmon: So it essentially acts as a job portal, but only for high school seniors. They were going to be seniors in Wayne County. So a student fills out their profile, they can search all of the employers that we’ve got all of their information for. They can apply directly on the portal and then it sends that to the school coordinators. So then the school coordinator can say, “Yeah, I think this student would be a really good fit.” And so it streamlines the whole process and makes sure students are going to the right fit and it actually aligns with what they want to do in the future.
Kate Jetmore: Oh, that’s exciting.
Alexis Harmon: Yeah. Something like this portal in the Student Future Success Program would have been beneficial for someone like me, even though I knew what I already wanted to do, just to have that experience, I think, and know that this is for me. And I think we’re going to see a lot of students start to feel that way.
Kate Jetmore: I have a question about what it was like to see that there was a need for something like this portal and then to have the thought as you shared, “Oh, I could do that. I could be the one to create it,” and then to go on to create it. So my question for you is, do you consider yourself a tech-savvy person and/or do you think that you were the person for this job simply because of the generation that you’re in, and maybe you’re from a younger population of people who are more digitally literate?
Alexis Harmon: A little bit of both. I would not go so far as to say I’m the most technologically savvy person either, but I do think me being closer to what these students’ ages are and how old they are, it gives me a little bit of an idea of what’s in their head because that was me not all that long ago and asking the questions like, “Okay, how would a student look at this? Would they know this is what this means?” Those kinds of things I do think play a part.
Kate Jetmore: Yeah. What’s it been like for you to find your footing as a young professional in the local business community?
Alexis Harmon: Yeah, it’s been a little uncomfortable, but uncomfortable in a good way, I think. I’m naturally just a pretty reserved person and so stepping into situations where I’m the youngest person in the room or I have the least experience in the room, it pushes you to really think like, “Okay, I do belong in the room. I do know what I’m talking about.” And that’s been something that I’ve had to figure out as I’ve continued at the Chamber.
Kate Jetmore: That’s so interesting. It sounds like you’re giving us a peek into your head, what it’s been like for you to navigate this job and this new chapter in your life. And I guess, if you step out of yourself and into what the structure is like in Wayne County for young professionals, I’d love to hear your take on what Wayne County is doing correctly for our young people and maybe what you’d like to see more of.
Alexis Harmon: Yeah. I think there are spaces for young professionals and I do think people are giving them the opportunity to say their piece and be a part of conversations. We at the Chamber have the WC Leads program. It’s essentially built for young professionals involved in leadership. And I think a program like that and having awards where you recognize young professionals, because I think that’s a pretty common theme in organizations throughout Wayne County is to at least recognize one young professional. And I think that’s important because we do bring things to the table that maybe someone else wouldn’t. And I would say, I hope that we continue to do that because like I said, I mean, we’d have a different perspective and continuing to let us be at the table and be a part of important conversations that help continue to shape Wayne County is important in my opinion.
Kate Jetmore: Absolutely. And it is such an important part of any society, planting seeds and caring for that garden as you shepherd in the next generation because people your age will be taking the reins before we know it. So it’s so important to support you and make sure that you’re building your resume and building your life in a way that will allow you to do that.
At this point in your life, Alexis, how do you approach staying in the community? You’ve already talked about coming back to the community, but making the decision each day to stay here versus moving and exploring other parts of the country or of the world. So what are your thoughts on that?
Alexis Harmon: I think right now I am very happy with where I’m at. Like I said before, I love my job, I love my friends here, I love my coworkers, but I do think, I mean, I’m 23, so I still have a lot of career left ahead of me. And so I don’t think I would ever oppose an opportunity outside of Wayne County, but I’m also not going to oppose staying here. So I think I’m at a point right now where I’m just happy being where I’m at.
Kate Jetmore: Right, right. Can you share any ideas or thoughts when you find yourself exploring that issue in your mind? What are some of the things that would keep you here and what are some of the things that would maybe draw you away?
Alexis Harmon: I will say I really appreciate the direction that we’re going in right now. I mean, I feel like every day I see a new thing on Facebook, that we’re revitalizing another building downtown, there’s another apartment going up here, and I think those are the kinds of things that entice me to stay, seeing our downtown be revitalized and see another shop going in, things to liven it up a little bit definitely are things that would keep me or sway me away probably.
Kate Jetmore: And when you say that you like seeing that and that it’s exciting to see that, is that in your role at the Chamber and in your work at the Chamber? Or do you envision yourself or people that you know living in those apartments, spending time downtown?
Alexis Harmon: Both, honestly. I just see it in general and I appreciate it, but I also see myself being actively engaged in the situations that are happening. If there’s an apartment going up downtown and I was like, “Oh my gosh, that is my perfect apartment.” And I mean, it’s a revolving door I think if you get more people in the apartments, then you get more shops and all those things. And so I think I’m excited to see what is coming.
Kate Jetmore: Yeah, me too. Well, Alexis, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to join me today. It’s been a real pleasure getting to know you and I want to wish you and your family all the best.
Alexis Harmon: Thank you. Thanks for having me.