Emma Okruhlik says the chamber is building on established events while finding new ways to connect businesses, residents and visitors across Walker County.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Emma Okruhlik is still in her first full year helping shape events for the Walker County Chamber of Commerce, but she is already learning what longtime business leaders in the community know well: chamber events do far more than fill a calendar.
They create introductions, strengthen relationships and give local businesses a place to be seen.
As events director for the Walker County Chamber of Commerce, Okruhlik is part of a team working to carry forward some of the chamber’s most recognizable traditions while also looking for ways to keep them useful, relevant and engaging. The chamber says its mission is to promote an environment that enhances the economic success of business in Walker County.
A path that started in Spring and led back to community
Okruhlik said her story did not begin in a chamber office. She grew up in Spring and attended Catholic school from preschool through high school. After graduating in 2019, she started college at the University of Dallas before the COVID-19 pandemic upended normal campus life.
She recalled hearing about the looming shutdown in a way that felt almost surreal at the time. She and her friends were preparing to leave for spring break when one of them warned the group they might not be coming back.
That turned out to be the case.
Like many students, Okruhlik suddenly found herself back home and trying to continue school online. She said the format was not a good fit for her. Instead of forcing herself down a path that no longer felt right, she kept working and gradually found her footing again.
Chick-fil-A gave her early leadership experience
Before her chamber role, Okruhlik spent years working at Chick-fil-A, beginning when she was 14 years old. She said she continued working there through different stages of school and eventually moved into leadership responsibilities, including operations, hiring and other management duties.
That experience, she said, gave her more than a paycheck. It taught her how events and community outreach can support a business, and how planning is often about more than just putting something on the calendar.
Okruhlik said she became interested in the marketing side of the business and in how community events could serve a larger purpose.
At one point, she believed that path might lead her to owning a Chick-fil-A restaurant one day. But after spending time in management, she realized the around-the-clock demands of that role were not the life she wanted for herself long term.
Instead, she found herself drawn to a role that still involved planning, people and community connection, but in a different setting.
Sam Houston and local connections helped open the next door
After returning home, Okruhlik enrolled at Lone Star College to improve her academic standing and later transferred to Sam Houston State University. Along the way, she also worked at Iron Works Health Club, where one of the connections that would later help her land at the chamber took shape.
She said a recommendation from Iron Works, combined with her familiarity with chamber staff member Jonathan Murphy from earlier work experience, helped point her toward the opening.
The move brought together many of the things she already enjoyed: event planning, community outreach, marketing and relationship building.
A chamber role that touches nearly every major event
In her role as events director at the chamber, Okruhlik helps oversee six major chamber events through the year. During the interview, she pointed to the Chamber Clay Classic, Diva Night, Fair on the Square, the annual awards luncheon and the gala among the signature events that keep the office looking ahead months in advance.
That planning cycle rarely slows down.
Okruhlik said one of the biggest realities of the job is that planners are often working on future events while current ones are still being wrapped up. In other words, success at the chamber means thinking well beyond whatever event is next on the public schedule.
Learning from a team that already knows the community
Okruhlik described longtime chamber staff and volunteers as a major part of her learning curve.
She said Shannon Higbie has been a key source of institutional memory and practical advice, while President and CEO Jason Brandolini brings chamber-specific experience and strategic leadership. She also pointed to Jonathan Murphy, membership director, and Missy Haden, relations manager, as part of the team helping members and visitors connect with the organization.
Okruhlik made clear that her first year has been as much about listening and learning as it has been about execution. She was thrown quickly into major planning cycles, including Fair on the Square and the annual awards luncheon, and said that experience gave her a fast education in how much coordination goes into chamber work.
Fresh ideas without losing what already works
One of the themes that emerged most clearly from Okruhlik’s comments is that she is not interested in change for the sake of change.
Instead, she said the goal is to respect the events people already know while also finding practical ways to improve the experience and keep things feeling current.
That approach is especially important in a chamber setting, where events are expected to serve multiple purposes at once. They must be enjoyable, organized, worthwhile for sponsors and useful for networking. They also need to reflect the local business community and help people build relationships they may not otherwise make.
Okruhlik said her first year is about getting each event under her belt and understanding where those adjustments can make the most difference.
Clay Classic offers a different kind of chamber experience
The next major chamber event on the calendar is the Chamber Clay Classic, presented by First National Bank of Huntsville. The event is set for Friday, March 20, 2026, at Able’s Sporting, Inc., 357 FM 1791 North in Huntsville. According to the chamber’s event page, the day runs from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes breakfast, a 12-station sporting clay tournament, lunch, prizes, live music and beverages.
The chamber event listing says teams of four will travel the course by golf cart after breakfast and a safety briefing. Registration includes ammo, breakfast and lunch, one golf cart per team, eye and ear protection, event-specific apparel and the afternoon entertainment portion. Team registration is listed at $1,000.
Okruhlik said the Clay Classic replaced the chamber’s longtime golf tournament as leaders looked for something new.
Diva Night also is getting a refresh
Okruhlik said another event receiving renewed attention this year is Diva Night.
While the chamber has held the event before, she said organizers are working to make it feel more interactive. Plans include a fashion show involving local boutiques from Huntsville and others from Conroe, along with food, shopping and a stronger focus on attendee engagement.
The goal, she said, is not simply to preserve an annual tradition, but to keep it from feeling static.
That kind of adjustment can be especially important for recurring chamber events, which rely on loyal supporters but also need enough freshness to keep people returning year after year.
Fair on the Square remains a major learning experience
Though the Clay Classic is next on the calendar, Okruhlik said Fair on the Square remains one of the biggest learning experiences of her short time with the chamber.
Because it is one of the organization’s most visible and logistically demanding events, it gave her a quick introduction to the scale and complexity of chamber planning in Huntsville.
She said having now experienced it once will help her think more clearly about how to support and expand it going forward. That kind of long-range thinking is common in chamber work, where some of the most visible public events take months of coordination with vendors, volunteers, sponsors and community partners.
Networking is still one of the chamber’s core purposes
As much as the public tends to associate chambers with ribbon cuttings and big-ticket events, Okruhlik stressed another important part of the organization’s role: helping people meet.
She said chamber leaders understand that networking can feel intimidating, especially for someone new to town, new to business ownership or new to chamber membership. That is one reason the organization is putting emphasis on helping members feel welcomed into the room rather than left to figure it out alone.
For Okruhlik, that side of the job matters just as much as producing a polished event. The point is not only to host a good gathering, but to create an environment where people actually leave with stronger connections than they had when they arrived.
A young leader helping shape the next season
There is also something notable about Okruhlik’s place in the chamber at this moment.
She represents a younger generation helping guide some of the community’s most established business traditions. That does not mean discarding what came before. In many ways, it means translating it well for what comes next.
Her experience in school organizations, customer-facing work, operations and community outreach seems to have prepared her for a role that requires both creativity and steadiness. Chamber events need fresh ideas, but they also require consistency, follow-through and the ability to work with a wide range of people.
That balance may be one reason chamber leadership entrusted her so quickly with major responsibilities.
Looking ahead while still getting the first year under her belt
For now, Okruhlik said her main professional focus is simple: get through a full year of events, learn from each one and use that experience to improve the next cycle.
That mindset suggests a practical kind of ambition. Instead of trying to remake everything at once, she is working to understand the chamber’s established rhythm, identify where improvements can be made and then build from there.
In a chamber environment, that may be exactly the right pace.
The Walker County Chamber of Commerce maintains information on membership, staff and upcoming events through its main site and business event pages. More information is available at: