Mount Olive Area Chamber celebrates 95 years of making a difference in the community

“This man, right here, is my daddy, Paul Smalley,” Pernell Brickey said holding a photo album of former Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce leaders above her head. “He was the chairman in 2001. He passed away in 2013.

“But my dad got me involved in the Chamber back in the early 2000’s; got me on the board of directors. Then I left and went to Atlanta.”

When Brickey moved back to Mount Olive, the first thing she did was to ask Chamber President Julie Beck how she once again could get involved with the Chamber. She quickly accepted Beck’s offer to be a Chamber Ambassador.

Brickey shared her story Thursday night, June 5, during the Chamber’s 95th anniversary celebration.

Originally planned for the patio at Ribeyes Steakhouse, rain forced the celebration inside to the restaurant’s second floor. A brief program for invited guests was held from 6 to 6:30 p.m. and then opened to the public including a concert by the band 581 South.

Brickey said that following her father’s death that she took care of her mom and moved her from Mount Olive to Georgia.

“But she always wanted to be here,” she said. “Her ties run deep — she was born and raised here. So, I am living in my grandma and grandpa’s house.

“It (Chamber) gives me the opportunity to meet new people, to associate with old friends — I haven’t seen some of you in so long and to be able to work with the business owners. Business growth is important to me. I do real estate in Georgia, and one day I will get my license here.”

Brickey said she tries to work with the town as well.

“And I do it all for my dad,” she said.

Current Chairman Edward Olive gave the welcome and, at the end of the program, sliced the cake baked at Sam’s Club, a Chamber member. Also served were special anniversary cookies baked by Yellow Garden Bake Shop out of Raleigh and dill pickle soda canned by R&R Brewing of Mount Olive, both Chamber members. Ribeyes, another Chamber member, provided meatballs.

“We look pretty darn good for 95 years,” Olive said. “We do appreciate you coming out to join us. I know it is a dreary evening, it’s wet, but we appreciate you braving the elements and coming out to join us. I do want to recognize the heartbeat of our Chamber — Julie Beck. She serves as our president. We all know JulieBeck is one word, right?”

Olive also recognized and thanked sponsors — Mt. Olive Pickle Co., University of Mount Olive, Southern Bank and Coastal Connections Marketing.

Following the program, Beck asked audience members to share their stories.

Three-time U.S. Olympian Leora “Sam” Jones, a Chamber Ambassador, said she moved back to Mount Olive in 2016 to take care of her mother.

Jones said she had never thought she would live here again, but that returning to her hometown and trying to be involved in the community is one of the best things to ever happen to her.

Brickey, who is her cousin, told Jones about the Chamber, adding that if Jones wanted to see what was going on that was where she needed to be.

“Another best thing that has happened to me,” Jones added. “Thank you guys for coming out, and I just want to say hey, I love Mount Olive.”

Former Chamber executive Patti O’Donoghue spoke of her long association with Beck including a trip with her to Egypt.

She joked about how Beck spoke to everyone, getting phone numbers and where they were from. They also came back with an idea for an N.C. Pickle Festival theme, she added.

Beck also passed on great stories about the Mount Olive community, O’Donoghue said.

She added that Beck was always quick to respond when she asked for help.

“She is mover and shaker who makes the good things happen,” O’Donoghue said. “Not only is she a mover and shaker, not only is she an extraordinary human being — so many of the things we have in this community, she brought to us.”

Lynn Williams, former board chairman and long-time N.C. Pickle Festival co-chair, spoke on the Chamber’s history.

“When the Chamber was organized in 1930, I think one of the things about this Chamber and about this community over the years has been that people have had vision,” Williams said.

Also, they have been invested in the community and in civic enterprise, she said.

“We have been very blessed to have a lot of people in this community who are invested for the benefit of the community; to see it grow; to see it be better for residents and for businesses in the town. That has been a really great piece to be a part of.

“And, that is something that I think that over the decades that this community can be very proud of and this Chamber can be very proud of. It is a great milestone to make, and in five more years we will be 100.”

Willis Brown, who served as chairman in 2016, spoke of the legacy of the Chamber’s Read to Succeed program at Carver Elementary School.

Brown said he sees several parents on a regular basis who had children in that program who always thank the Chamber for it. O’Donoghue said she has experienced the same reactions.

Beck recognized Chamber board members and echoed Olive’s welcome, adding that while being inside had not been the plan that people know that sometimes you have to shift.

The Chamber was started on April 29, 1930, Beck noted.

However, the 95th anniversary could not be celebrated in late April because there were “a few things going on” at the end of April — namely the 39th annual N.C. Pickle Festival, she said.

“But we wanted to make sure we did not miss this special opportunity,” Beck added. “We try to use as many Chamber members as possible for this event tonight.”

Beck said she found it interesting that the event was being held at Ribeyes in the same building that housed the Chamber office many years ago.

“How ironic that this where we chose to have our event tonight,” Beck said. “So again, we have come full circle.”

Beck joked that during COVID she was trying to keep herself employed since there were no events or activities going on. She decided to go through the cabinets in the Chamber office where she found board minutes going back to 1968.

She started organizing those minutes in chronological order which also helped her plan for the 95th anniversary celebration.

Beck said she we was unsure what happened before 1968.

The Chamber was incorporated on April 29, 1930 by T.R. Thigpen, who also was the first board chairman, S.D. Broadhurst, W.P. Martin, L.J. Simmons and E.C. Casey, all of Mount Olive.

“Before we look to the future, we have got to look back to the past,” Beck said. “As I was going through information I found some interesting things. I am going to read from these documents that I found that were back in the day.”

One document asked what a Chamber of Commerce is, and why was it even established, she said.

People who sold and traded goods realized that a way was need to coordinate and organize, she said. The first Chamber of Commerce to organize was in France in the 17th Century, she added.

From there Chambers were developed in Germany and in 1770 in New York, before the U.S. existed, with the nation’s first Chamber in Charleston, S.C. in 1773.

Beck said she read in the documents that Chambers organized to promote selling of goods; organize markets; make and enforce trade rules; protect goods in transit; and even operate their own trading floors.

The Chamber became the center of businesses and community and was a place where people got involved, she added.

Beck said one local document noted that the Chamber is “a problem-solving organization, giving full consideration to all areas of concern; is a vehicle through which business is conducted and which people can work together to improve one’s community.”

It adds, she said, that the Chamber “will not shun the difficult, rough and unpleasant hard work, but use the time wisely for the betterment of the economic impact, the social and political life of the Mount Olive area.”

According to the document, the Chamber manager (now called Chamber president) and board must work with the members to ensure events happen, and to be successful, Chambers need good, strong leadership, she said.

Also, it notes that the first law of the modern Chamber is that it must be responsive to and reflect the community accurately, Beck said.

“Each Chamber revolves around that community and what works best for that community,” she explained.

A document dated 1980 defines the Chamber as an organization to mobilize people and accomplish goals for the betterment of the community, Beck said.

“No different than what we are doing here in 2025,” she said.

The document, Beck said, expressed purposes of increased business growth and development in the community; assist in the growth and development in the community; assist in the development of people in the community; contribute to the health and economic stability of the community; to work with the private enterprise system; to determine and analyze community needs; to set priorities based on what the needs are in the community; to be an organization of people who were involved in the betterment of the community.

Beck said she first became involved with the Chamber in 1997 when she was asked to serve on its board of directors, adding at that time she had no idea what a Chamber was.

“I just knew I wanted to do something for my community,” she added. “Little did I know I would end up serving 13 years on the Chamber board, including four years as chairperson.”

In 2014, Beck was hired as Chamber president.

Over those nearly 25 years, Beck said she has seen so much change and improvement, but most importantly the Chamber’s impact on Mount Olive.

“To me, the Mount Olive Chamber of Commerce has worked diligently in all areas to make Mount Olive a better place to live, work and play,” she said.

Beck gave what she called a snapshot of what the Chamber has been involved in at least since 1968, again, based on information culled from Chamber files.

Over the years that has included supporting highway projects such as the four-laning of U.S. 117, securing the Interstate-795 designation for the new highway and work to expand N.C. 55.

It has worked with the airport to expand runways to accommodate corporate jets. The Chamber, she said, has taken a leadership role in planning and sponsoring land-use planning, community planning such as Christmas and other holiday events, the N.C. Pickle Festival and Pickles, Pigs and Swings and a short-lived Festival of Flowers.

The Chamber has worked with a number of award programs and enjoys a long history of supporting education including a VIP event to honor students at Southern Wayne High School; being a part of Partners in Education with Carver Elementary, Mount Olive Middle and Southern Wayne High schools. It also supports the Read to Succeed program.

It has sponsored Teacher Appreciation Days and programs to welcome UMO students to town.

“The Chamber has been involved with the military, whether we have people that serve on the Military Affairs Committee; we’ve had people go to Washington, D.C., to lobby on behalf of the military.” Beck said.

It has been involved with many community projects, including the Kids World Playground, which will be turning 25 years old this year, Beck said. The Chamber, particularly member Lynn Williams, played a major role in the new Steele Memorial Library, she added.

The Chamber, Beck said, sponsors events to bring leaders together to talk about ideas and to gain new information.

“We have been involved in economic development, whether we’re trying to bring a new business to town,” she added. “We always have members that serve on the Wayne County Development Alliance board of directors. We have sent people to Washington, D.C., and to Raleigh to legislate key events. We have worked with our county commissioners and our town commissioners. We have been a part of the North Carolina Main Street program for 22 years, which is great.

“As you can see, the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce, in 95 years, has been the center of all of this. They have worked so diligently to try to get things done and to try to make a difference in the community. And it’s such a proud moment to be able to say that I’ve been affiliated this Chamber for 25 years and hopefully made some differences in the things that are going on in this town.”