The Dominion Post
1 July 2008
By Ronda Gregory
The Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce has a new president and chief executive officer at the helm.
Kenneth Busz, a New Jersey native, came to Morgantown from Frederick, Md., where he was president of the Frederick County Chamber. He started his new job May 5, replacing interim President Matt Cybulski.
Board member and former board chairman Stephen LaCagnin, attorney with Jackson Kelly, said the chamber is pleased to have Busz onboard.
“We’re excited about acquiring Ken Busz as our new chamber president,” LaCagnin said. “He comes to us with a wealth of experience running chambers our size and bigger, and he has a track record of success.”
Before working in Maryland, Busz was the president of the Huntington (W.Va.) Regional Chamber of Commerce for 10 years, during which time he was the president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Executives, a statewide association that provides professional development for chamber executives and staff.
“He knows the chamber business,” LaCagnin said. “He understands very well how to grow a chamber; but more important, he knows how to make a chamber effective for its membership.”
Busz said he’s glad to be in Monongalia County.
“I’m thrilled to be here in Morgantown,” Busz said. “I have said several times that Morgantown always seemed to have the image of a community that accomplishes things — that makes things happen. It’s a vibrant community that has a lot going for it.”
He said that makes his new job even more “intriguing and exciting.”
Busz said some of the first areas he plans to put his attention toward are branding and communication issues, so he will be focusing on the logo and Web site.
“I’ll be working on improving on the image and our ability to communicate with members,” Busz said. “My goal is to give Morgantown a full-service, quality organization that our members can look to for support and with pride.”
He said, “I look forward to working with our members to enhance our programming and services that will better serve the interests of the business community.”
LaCagnin said Busz’ personality as a “pragmatic, no-nonsense” person is what the board recognized as a good fit for what they need in a board president and CEO.
And, he said, the board has confidence in Busz’ work ethic and interest in the town.
LaCagnin said Busz “hit the ground running” as soon as he got to Morgantown to learn all he could about the business issues in the area.
“Chambers of commerce need to reflect the community,” Busz said. “Having said that, a quality chamber needs to be out front on issues and programs that are of importance to the business community.”
A graduate of Salem College, now Salem International University, Busz previously worked at the Middlesex County (New Brunswick, N.J.) Chamber of Commerce in 1988 before going to the Eastern Monmouth (Red Bank, N.J.) Area Chamber of Commerce, where he stayed until his stint in Huntington. While in Huntington, he also served on the Advisory Committee of the Lewis College of Business at Marshall University.
Busz is a 1993 graduate of the Institute of Organization Management, where he served as a member of its Board of Regents until 2003, when he became chairman of the Northeast site, located at Villanova University. The Institute program, which provides a full range of managerial and professional training for chamber executives, is conducted annually by the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Busz declined on Monday to reveal his salary because, he said, the agency is not operated by public funding.