Pam Swain
DESCRIBE YOUR CURRENT ROLE
I’m the president/CEO of the Oxford Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. I get the pleasure of working each and every day to help businesses succeed in our community and to make sure that our citizens have the opportunity for the best quality of life only Oxford and Lafayette County can offer. I work with a wonderful team of staff members who are all as passionate about our community as I am. The support our chamber gets from our members, our sponsors and our volunteers is what makes our chamber the best chamber you’ll find anywhere, and I’m blessed to call these people my colleagues.
HOW I KNEW THIS WAS MY PASSION
I found my passion with the Chamber of Commerce in an unusual way: on the other side of being a staff member, as a volunteer. Early in my career, I worked in Hattiesburg for a different nonprofit, and I volunteered as much spare time as I could with the Chamber of Commerce. As I grew to love that volunteerism, I realized that you could get paid to do what I absolutely loved to do and I knew the chamber was the right place to move in my career. And it’s OXFORD!
BEST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED
The best advice I ever received is the old quote: “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” That is so true and how I feel about coming to work each and every day. When I started at the chamber more than 21 years ago, I immediately realized that I could come to work every day and absolutely love what I do. And that still holds through today. We get to live here! And I get to work here!
BEST CAREER MOMENT SO FAR
I’ve had some wonderfully fulfilling days in my career when I saw successes of other people and the success of our chamber. However, my proudest moment was back in August 2023 when the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted unanimously to promote me to the president/CEO position. It literally brought tears to my eyes that they had that faith in me and it was a dream come true.
NONPROFIT I WISH I KNEW MORE ABOUT
I’ve had the great opportunity in my time in the nonprofit world to get to know many other organizations, their missions and what inspires them to do the job that they do for their constituents. This doesn’t exactly answer the question, but I love learning more about what the United Way of Oxford and Lafayette County do and how it makes such a tremendous difference in our community. United Way is a nonprofit that reaches every sector of our community, all social classes and all walks of life, making a difference in the many nonprofits they fund. I know that my donation to United Way goes far and goes directly to those in need. I encourage others to support United Way as well, because they make such a difference in our community.
Hometown: Jayess
I can’t start my day until: coffee and a quick devotion
Hobbies: camping with my family, cross-stitching, refinishing furniture, reading
Binge-watch: “Friends!” I can quote just about any episode.
Last Good Read: “Verity:” I couldn’t put it down and read it in one day.
Favorite Meal in Town: No way I can pick a favorite with all the great food in Oxford.
