Westmont Chamber led by Wise Hands

When you have the opportunity to talk with Larry Forssberg, one thing you will learn about him is how passionate he is about Westmont and the people that make up that community. As the Executive Director of the Westmont Chamber of Commerce, he has spent the last 10 years in that position letting people know how great a place Westmont is to live and conduct business in.

It seems like Larry was tailor made for his position with the Westmont Chamber. He describes his path to this position as mostly linear; however it started with his work for a printing company in a management-training program. The first 2 years were filled with learning about the business. Then the company was sold and it just was not the same work environment. At that time, a good friend pointed him towards a position at the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. It was at that time Larry was first introduced to membership driven organizations and understood that he really liked this type of work environment. When he started there, it was supposed to be a short-term position. It wasn’t until 1999 that he left that organization when they moved to Washington D.C. Larry has also worked with The Management Association, North American Retail Dealers Association and the Illinois Chamber. These experiences have each offered a vast range of business experience and skills. This work also greatly expanded his knowledge about the structure and operation of membership-based organizations. These experiences are used daily to benefit the business community and the residents of Westmont.

All of those opportunities included a very high degree of work with Boards, Committees, Work Teams and a wide range of stakeholders to meet industry goals. This involved various projects like working with industry suppliers to identify and reduce non-value added cost from products, developing safety and performance standards like the National Electric Code/UL to maximize product safety and global projects like changing garment cleaning instructions from words to symbols to make it easier to see in the global marketplace. On a more local level, Larry is currently involved with the Westmont Lions and the Rotary Club of Westmont, both very successful global membership-driven organizations. From lessons gained in working with such a wide range of membership-driven platforms, Larry realized the positive impact it has on both the business community and the community-at-large; he has always found this work to be highly rewarding

When asked about one of the best pieces of advice he has received, he was thoughtful for a minute. “No matter how hard one tries, you can’t please everyone. So, you have to look at the big picture and what is best for all concerned.” His words of advice for making the world a better place causes the person to deeply reflect: Do you really feel in your heart, that you are doing the best for your community? If you ask yourself that question and the answer is “Yes”, then you are on the right track. If it’s “No” then you need to promptly revise the plan.” These thoughts certainly reflect what he finds so rewarding about his position; his respect for people who he describes as “the hardest working people he has ever known.” He said that he feels a very strong sense of community and connection to the people in Westmont.

When not investing in the community, Larry enjoys spending time with his wife. Going to the movies, taking a walk around the Arboretum, or going to the library. He also enjoys weekend trips to see his extended family that live in Midwest.

Larry, the community of Westmont is fortunate to have someone like you at the helm of the Chamber. The Township enjoys the partnership we have with you. Thank you for all that you do.