Brad Gruhot is a husband, dad, “Chamber guy,” sports lover and a volunteer. He’s been with the Marshall Area Chamber for nearly 11 years and is involved in Business Development, Ambassadors and Transportation & Legislative Committees as well as overseeing daily chamber operations. Brad and his wife, Karen, live in Marshall with their two children. Gruhots are donors to the Southwest Initiative Foundation and our partner the Marshall Area Community Foundation.
What does leadership mean to you?
Leadership means being a member of the community who wants to make change. It’s also being a good role model to our staff and to our family, not being afraid to do the little things that make a big impact. And being visible in the community, getting out and just meeting people. When somebody moves to town, I like to see what they want to get involved with.
I’m a big believer in leadership programs. We have Marshall Leadership Academy. It’s in its nineteenth year now. It was in place from 1998 to 2013, then it was on hiatus until fall 2021. We’ve had full cohorts of 25 people ever since we restarted it. People love it. They like the opportunities. We also have Women’s Connect and monthly Area Young Professionals with speakers, tours and that sort of thing.
What advice would you give a leader who is just getting started?
If somebody is in a leadership role, you’re going to get asked to do a lot of different things. Don’t say yes to everything. How’s it going to impact you? Is it the right organization to get involved with? What’s the best fit for you? You have to be able to have a solid work/life balance.
Leaders are generous people in many ways, including sometimes as donors. What inspires your giving?
I’m a donor because I know it goes toward great things that I work on as a daily basis, toward community projects that make an impact on the Marshall area. That goes a long way because I know that’s going to improve Marshall and that’s going to make Marshall more attractive. Our biggest challenge right now is our workforce. We are trying to keep our grads here, our Southwest Minnesota State University grads, our Marshall High School grads. We aren’t doing it alone; we have amazing partners.
More About Brad
While he’s been in the chamber world for more than a decade at three different organizations, Brad’s career started at the Southdale YMCA in Edina where he ran the largest YMCA youth sports program in the state. Speaking in front of 80 to 100 coaches as a 24-year-old built up his public speaking skills – and fast! He also worked in fundraising and found that building relationships with donors translated well to growing chamber memberships. The Marshall Area Chamber has added more than 145 members in the last two years.
One of the biggest challenges facing the business community in Marshall is maintaining a strong workforce to fill open roles, something Brad focuses a lot of time and effort on alongside partners including CareerForce, Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Southwest Minnesota State University and Marshall High School.
Leadership training can be a piece of the workforce retention puzzle, according to Brad. Participants get to tour parts of the town they haven’t visited, discover businesses they didn’t know existed and connect with new people. That includes some of the youngest entrepreneurs in the area, the Lyon-Murray County CEO program participants. These high school students receive complimentary chamber memberships and are invited to all chamber events. The hope is they will stay local and that the business ideas they create as students will go on to succeed.
Looking ahead, Brad’s goal is to continue growing membership for the chamber and promoting participation. A lot of the events have not recovered post COVID, though a recent “Let’s Connect!” boasted record attendance, which is a good sign. Child care and housing solutions are also top of mind for Brad, and retaining the chamber’s staff and his broader industry connections: “Chamber friendships keep me in the industry. We aren’t there for competition. We want to see each other do well.”
