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The Winchester Chamber of Commerce has a new associate director — Allison Childs, who has been living in Winchester with her family for several years.
“We wanted to be in walking distance of a town center,” she says, having lived in Charlestown. “I love that my daughter can walk to all three downtown schools.”
One of the things she plans to focus on in her new position is supporting the “second, third, and fourth floor businesses,” she says. “Businesses with storefronts naturally gain visibility as residents pass by and become familiar with them. However, many thriving businesses located on upper floors don’t benefit from that same street-level recognition. We want to highlight and champion their work and services as well. These include businesses in financial services, interior design, health and wellness, and more.”
Childs will write the chamber’s newsletter and help Director Dana Garmey run events.
“And I want to make sure members know about the benefits of membership — I’ll encourage them to make use of them,” she says.
Julie Wile Fish was elected chamber president in January. A realtor at Advisors Living, Fish grew up in town and lives with her family in the house she grew up in.
“I’m passionate about economic growth, small business success, and community engagement,” she says. “Entrepreneurship runs in my family — my father, Al Wile, owned a local remodeling business, my husband, Jeremy Fish, owns Viking Outdoor (a landscaping and snow removal business), and I’ve built my real estate career alongside my business partner, Peter Pirani.”
As part of her work, Fish says she’s “exploring opportunities to bring in speakers and organize small workshops that provide valuable learning experiences for our members on key business topics, such as social media marketing. For many small businesses, hosting these workshops independently can be cost-prohibitive, but by coming together in a collaborative learning environment, we can make these resources more accessible and beneficial for everyone.”
Childs notes many small businesses have the same challenges, such as updating their websites, and at the events they can ask others who they use to do the job.
Meanwhile Fish says the chamber sponsors the flower baskets hanging from downtown lampposts.
“I hope we can do the same for the North Main Street area — it’s an overlooked area,” she says.
Garmey is excited by the new duo.
“We’re thrilled to have Allison join us,” she says.
And Fish adds that, “Dana and Allison are a strong duo. Dana’s been pushing a lot of issues and Allison will help catapult them. It’s exciting for the whole chamber family.”
All three agree that they encourage residents to shop local and support businesses that make Winchester unique.
