Beginning July 1, Boyd Petersen became the president and CEO of the South Jordan Chamber of Commerce. Despite the City of South Jordan pledging its financial support to nearby South Valley Chamber in May of this year, the South Jordan Chamber board voted to remain open due to overwhelming response from chamber members. Once that decision was made, a survey was then sent out in early June asking chamber members what they wanted out of their chamber, what things were working for them and what things were not. With the responses collected, the board again met to begin the process of reinventing the South Jordan chamber. It was then that Petersen was asked to be president. 

“I’ve been on chambers for a lot of years,” Petersen said. 

Previously a full-time position, Petersen balances his part-time work as chamber president with running his own small business, BP Media. One of the components of his business is helping other business utilize digital strategies, including social media use. While some owners feel that social media is a waste of time and money, Petersen hopes to change that mindset by showing owners how to make social media work for them in appropriate ways.

“My goal has been, since owning the newspaper [many years ago], to help small businesses grow,” said Petersen. “It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new in business or have been in business [many] years, I want to help you.”

One important take away from the June survey was the need for more and varied networking opportunities. Previously held during the lunch hour, many chamber members asked that opportunities for networking be varied throughout different times of the day, allowing for more members to attend, especially restaurant owners whose lunch time hours are typically the busiest. 

In addition to more networking, there were requests for various types of training. The chamber offers mini and full Mastermind programs, where business owners act as mentors in a peer-to-peer format, helping each other find solutions and offering advice.

“We got a lot of cool things going now,” Petersen said.

One such business owner has felt the support from the chamber over the years. Wagner Ribeiro, owner of Tushar Brazilian Express, admitted he was not excited about the idea of joining a larger chamber. He felt as though a larger chamber wouldn’t be able to pay enough attention to local business owners. Ribeiro said he preferred to remain with the local chamber as a way to support other businesses that are closer to him in proximity.

“The local network is so important to have because we can help each other,” Ribeiro said.

Opened in 2013, Ribeiro has been a chamber member since his restaurant opened. He encourages other businesses to join and to be a part of the local network. Ribeiro moved to Utah in 1997 from Sau Paulo, Brazil.

Chair of the ambassador committee, Marty Gail was glad that chamber members like Ribeiro wanted the local city chamber to remain open. A resident and business owner in South Jordan, Gail has been a part of the chamber for four years. He said that it takes a village of chamber members to make the activities and events a success, and what better village to have than those who are near to you.

Gail said that he likes the fact that the chamber is no longer beholden to the city, allowing the chamber to exercise all its time and energy towards business growth. Gail admitted that the city chambers have a unique purpose and offer businesses a sense of identity within their community.  

“Most businesses want to be community oriented,” Gail said. 

Boyd Petersen hosts a weekly chamber podcast titled “We Are South Jordan Chamber,” highlighting the chamber businesses, and co-hosts a podcast with SEO manager Jim Carroll titled “Entrepreneur Factory” Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

In addition to supporting Christmas for Kids in December, the chamber has plans for activities such as a casino night in January 2023 and a Topgolf Tournament in March 2023.

For more information or to become a member, visit the chamber website at southjordanchamber.org  λ