A Vision for the Future

Hunter Walsh Takes Command of the Outer Banks Chamber

BY STEVE HANF / Photo Above: Hunter Walsh calls the fact he met his wife, Lauren, in preschool his fun ‘icebreaker’ story. The couple has a 2-year-old and a new arrival on the way as Walsh settles into his new role as President and CEO of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce.

The “go get lost and find yourself” trope is a staple of great storytelling in novels, buddy films and even nonfiction self-help books. And every so often, someone really does manage to tune out the noise and discern their true calling in the midst of a grand adventure.

Hunter Walsh had his degree from James Madison University. He’d worked back on the family farm for a couple of years. Yet the nagging question of “what’s next” led him to drop everything for a solo backpacking trip through Europe.

“Probably six months into that, I was like, ‘You know what, this whole unemployed thing is kind of overrated, I should probably start taking it seriously and find a job,’ ” Walsh recalls with a laugh.

Career website Indeed had a listing for something called the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. Walsh remembers liking how the position sounded “really official,” yet he also had no idea what a chamber did.

“I opened up the job description and was like, ‘Oh, amazing, it’s interacting with businesses and helping business owners, and lobbying and advocacy and creating programming,’ ” Walsh says. “I’ve always considered myself a generalist, in that I know a little about a lot of things but don’t have deep subject-matter expertise in one domain and come to find out that’s exactly what a lot of chambers are.”

Walsh landed that position in Tidewater, Virginia, putting himself on a path that eventually would lead to his current role: President and CEO of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce. Walsh came aboard in late April to replace long-time leader Karen Brown following her retirement on May 15.

In choosing Walsh, members of the search committee praised his nonprofit leadership experience and small business background as key areas of expertise for the Outer Banks Chamber and its 800 members.

“Hunter stood out for his ability to connect business, community and innovation in a way that reflects both the heritage and future of the Outer Banks,” Search Committee Chair Nick Graham said in a news release. “His experience building partnerships and driving economic impact made him the clear choice to lead the Chamber forward.”

Walsh’s uncertainty about the role of a chamber when he saw that first job opening is not unusual. While a lot of people have at least heard of the organizations in their communities, that question of “What does the Chamber do?” persists.

“The answers are all over the place. It sounds like it has this gravitas towards it,” Walsh says. “But there’s a saying in Chamber World, ‘If you’ve met one chamber, you know one chamber.’ Each one is going to be structured very differently, especially in dynamic communities like the Outer Banks.”

Some chambers, Walsh explains, focus on the tourism and visitor bureau aspects of a community. Others work on economic development and workforce training. In a more densely populated area, some chambers may be hyper-focused on bringing together community and business leaders to make sure businesses succeed.

Obviously, the Outer Banks touches on many of those common chamber issues while dealing with other unique challenges. Workforce housing is something he’s already heard plenty about. Balancing tourism and industry is another. So, too, is making sure each OBX community maintains its own identity while also working together as regional partners.

The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce is also unique in that it supports Currituck County, so its reach is vast – across vastly different communities – from the Virginia state line to Ocracoke. That challenge, though, is part of what made the job so attractive.

New Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Hunter Walsh (second from left) enjoys a ribbon cutting ceremony for a local business earlier this spring. Walsh joined the Chamber in April following Karen Brown’s retirement and is looking forward to working with business leaders and town officials to ensure the region maintains a strong and diverse economy.

“When I saw this job opportunity, I saw the ability to make an impact in a community that has meant so much to me and my family over the years,” Walsh says. “I want to do everything I can so my children and great-grandchildren have every reason to spend as much time on the Outer Banks as they want to, and that we have the high-paying jobs and the diversification of industry where this is thriving 100 years from now.”

Walsh has generational ties to northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. He grew up in Sandbridge as part of the Cullipher Farm family with ties to rural Virginia Beach as well as Knotts Island. He remembers helping out around the farm from the time he could walk, and in what he calls a fun “icebreaker” story, Walsh and his wife Lauren actually met there in preschool.

Family trips growing up would be drives to pick up farm equipment and finding good barbecue, he says with a laugh. His grandfather also was passionate about planting native grasses and coastal plants, so Walsh spent many a weekend up and down the Outer Banks’ dunes. Other family members hunted all over Currituck and Dare, and some of their well-hunted duck decoys now take up residence in Walsh’s office in Kill Devil Hills.

After college, Walsh’s work on the farm focused on bringing that farmers’ market experience to Cullipher, which today boasts a variety of pick-your-own and other special events that help families connect to nature. He calls that his “real world MBA,” while his actual MBA came from the former Virginia Wesleyan University.

After four years with the Hampton Roads Chamber, Walsh left to begin a nonprofit called 757 Collab. That space served as a business incubator for what he describes as “early stage high-growth, high-tech startups.”

This opportunity on the Outer Banks, however, proved too great to pass up. The Walshes have a 2-year-old and a second child on the way and have been splitting their time between their home in Buxton and one on the farm. Luckily, Walsh adds, lots of friends have extended the offer for him to crash a night here and a night there if a late day at work makes that long drive home a little less appealing.

In his first few months on the job, he’s loved being active and present in the community, spending time outside, and enjoying the local restaurant scene. Walsh envisions these early days as a chance to connect with and listen to as many people as possible to find out what’s working and also learn what the Chamber can do for its members.

“What opportunities does the Chamber have to leverage its influence, its membership, its human capital to lighten your load, to offer insightful things and resources, etc. It’s not my vision, it’s ‘What is the vision of the business community?’ ” Walsh says. “It’s my job to then reverse-engineer and execute that and be that steady advocate to ensure that the business community has everything they need to thrive and prosper, and let the Chamber deal with some of the less exciting but equally important things on the advocacy and legislative side of the house.”

When community and business leaders meet Walsh, it’s a safe bet that his easy-going personality and enthusiasm will make a strong first impression. He plans to hold listening sessions throughout the area to meet people where they are, and he loved the “ride-along” he had with Town Manager Melody Clopton when she drove him all around Kitty Hawk rather than just meeting and talking in her office.

“Certainly, the more I can be out in the community exploring the coffee shops, meeting the people and the visitors, it just allows me to do my job that much more effectively,” Walsh says. “My cup gets filled up when I have the opportunity to help people, and there’s no shortage of opportunities for your cup to be running over every day in Chamber World, for sure.”

Steve Hanf teaches the journalism classes at First Flight High School and enjoys a fun working relationship with the Chamber, volunteering with students every year at the Outer Banks Seafood Festival!

Author: Steve Hanf

Steve Hanf is a former professional sportswriter who has taught the journalism classes at First Flight High School since 2015.