New chamber director excited to get involved

FOSTORIA — Crystal Laird has spent the last two weeks getting her feet wet in Fostoria.She plans to be immersed soon as the chamber/small business director of the Fostoria Area Chamber of Commerce."I had been here a few times; I'll be honest — kind of driving through or my husband and I would kind of walk downtown and that kind of thing," she said. "We've gone to some of the farmers markets and things. But it's very exciting to really start to meet the people here. But it's very exciting to really start to meet the people here in Fostoria."I really appreciated how tight-knit of a community it seemed to be. And just where the farmers markets were, the downtown area, it seems like it's on a growing upswing. And, everyone's been so kind. The people, really, are what's brought me to the area. Everybody's been wonderful and I've really enjoyed getting to know everybody."Laird came to work in Fostoria after having been marketing and events coordinator for the Chamber of Commerce of Sandusky County."I loved my job so much that I was looking forward to expanding that," she said. "I got to move up into this role, into the director's position. And to kind of get into the community of Fostoria and meet people here and be on the growing side of this community is just so exciting to me."Lisa Saltzman, chairperson of the chamber's board of directors, expressed excitement over having brought Laird on board."As chamber/small business director, Crystal will oversee all chamber functions, including member relations, small business and entrepreneur programming, tourism and visitors bureau activities, event coordination and community-development initiatives," Saltzman wrote in an email. "The chamber board of directors is excited about the creativity and energy she brings to the role and looks forward to her leadership in advancing opportunities for our members and the broader community."Laird, who grew up in the Akron/Canton area, developed a hospitality bent before attending the University of Akron to study nursing."I did weddings and events ever since I was 15 years old; always a people person, always a forward-facing person," she said.As a student at Akron, she did an internship at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida that involved constant contact with people, and it transformed her "real-world" preparation."I was still pre-nursing when I went to Disney," she said. "When I left, I knew it was not nursing anymore. That's when I moved over to hospitality."Before joining the Sandusky County chamber, Laird worked as director of catering at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware and as visitor services manager at the Rutherford Ba. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont."Crystal Laird is a strong fit for the chamber director role because of her proven experience with the Sandusky County Chamber and her background in the hospitality industry," Saltzman said. "She brings a unique mix of community engagement, marketing and leadership that aligns well with the chamber's mission to support local businesses and foster community growth."A significant difference between what Laird did at the Sandusky County chamber and what she'll do in Fostoria is "I am a little more forward-facing in this role," she said."I was a little more in the back end of things in Sandusky County," she said. "And now, I get to do those things, but I get to come up front and meet members and work directly, one-on-one, with them."Laird said she'll get a lay of the land before deciding on specifics of how she'll proceed as chamber director."Really, I want to hear what Fostoria wants," she said. "This is not about me. This is not about what I want or what I think. This is about what Fostoria individuals and businesses here want and need."I'm really looking forward to getting involved in the community and meeting the people of Fostoria. I'm so excited to be here. I look forward to coming to work every day and I'm just so excited for the events that are coming up that might not even be chamber-involved. I signed up for the Sparkle 5K (a run/walk set for Sept. 28 to benefit the 2025 Glass Court in its community-support efforts), and my family — we're all going to go and do that event. I'm looking forward to getting involved in Fostoria and meeting the people of Fostoria."