I returned this Monday from a four-week paternity leave as my wife and I welcomed our second child, Benjamin, into our lives. His brother needed Dad home to help him adjust to start sharing the spotlight, and his mom needed her partner there to help. I’m thankful to our chamber staff and the Board of Directors for managing while I was away.

Somewhere in the haze of 2 a.m. feedings and pacing circles across the carpet encouraging Ben to fall asleep, I had time for my mind to wonder. It’s interesting to step away for several weeks; it can really help with perspective. As this week approached, I began to think about what’s coming next in my chamber world, and upon my return, naturally, I began to check all of my emails and phone messages.

What I found is that as much as so many “regular” summer things are coming back, that also, there are loads of changes in our communities, too. I had five emails from different organizations announcing the retirements of their lead staff people. I had news of three other leaders who aren’t retiring but rather jumping to new opportunities at other organizations in the community. Notices came in from volunteers resigning from local committees due to being short-staffed at work and not having the time to volunteer, while conversely, happy notes from volunteers who are loving engaging with new groups. It’s honestly hard to keep track of it all.

I want to spend a little time below highlighting some events you can look forward to in the coming weeks, but before that, I want to take a moment to remind everyone that these changes are not a phase that will pass quickly. When you look at the demographics of our state and region, there are an increasing number of 60-70-year-old business leaders who have changed from counting down their final years until retirement and are now counting in months and weeks. Yes, there have been a lot of leadership changes already in the last six months, but this will last for another 18-30 months before the dust settles and the new crop of leaders are entrenched in their new organizations.

With those changes come new faces in surprising places and even at times surprising faces in leadership. This is not a bad thing. The next generation of leaders are being trained, tested and evaluated right now, and if you don’t have an upward mobility plan for your best young people, then another organization will be happy to come calling. I tell you this to say, we need to start to shift our mindset from assuming your best people will always be with you simply because they have been with you for so long. Employee satisfaction will be as important as employee attraction when it comes to leaders and management positions.

Along with accepting these new leaders, we need to begin to accept the new ideas that they bring with them. There’s a generational shift and a tone shift that many new leaders have that all of us need to begin to become accustom to. I can’t say that I’m up to speed with the entire lexicon of new phrases, labels and definitions that our youngest employees use right now, but I know enough to ask the questions and be open to it.

Do I think all of these new leaders will succeed? No, but not all old leaders succeed either. Do I think all of these new phrases and labels will stick around? No, but there are plenty of phrases that I used 20 years ago that are no longer in my working vocabulary, so that happens, too.

The point is, the changes are coming, and with these fresh faces come fresh ideas. The best new leaders will listen to what has become before them, respect the foundations of the organizations that they are now leading and will adapt them for the new world thinking. It’s actually pretty exciting to see how these new leaders will carry the torch forward to help our communities grow. I’m excited to see what world they build for my two sons.

With that, here are just a few chamber updates that I wanted to make you aware of:

• 11th Annual Hacker’s Ball, Friday, May 12: Brunswick Golf Club is the tournament site as we bring one of the first tournaments of the year to the region with the 11th Annual Hacker’s Ball. Designed to be a more-fun-than-serious tournament, we have lots of side games, and teams are split into two divisions based on handicap with prizes awarded to the best gross and net score in each division. We still have a few hole sponsors and player spots left as of this writing, so if you’re interested, contact the BBRC office at 725-8797. The funds raised go to supporting the BBRC’s ChamberWorks 2030 workforce programs.

• WILL Power Cardio Connect and WILL Power Speed Networking Night: Our Women In Local Leadership group had two successful April events and are looking to have over a dozen event dates in 2023. The events include the first monthly WILL Power event called Cardio Connect, where ladies are invited to a group fitness activity together on the third Saturday of the month and then grab a coffee or snack afterwards to mingle. The next one is May 20 at Spark Cycling Studio. On June 7, WILL Power presents a Speed Networking Night hosted at The Highlands in Topsham. Contact the chamber office for more information.

• May Chamber After Hours, May 24: Speaking of The Highlands, this month’s Chamber After Hours is 5-7 p.m. on May 24. It should be a great time to catch up with everyone before a busy summer. Non-members can attend as guests, but you must be a businessperson in the region. Register on the chamber website at midcoastmaine.com, and we hope to see you there.

Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce.