Cathy Renfeldt, executive director of the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, was recently recognized as being a game changer in her field by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE).
“ACCE’s 40 Under 40 program recognizes the top emerging leaders in the chamber of commerce industry who have demonstrated success in their careers and made significant contributions in the communities they represent,” read an excerpt from the organization’s website.
Stephen Phillips, board president of the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, wrote a glowing letter to the selection committee nominating Renfeldt for the prestigious accolade.
The letter highlighted Renfeldt’s successes and examples of her impact, including being a passionate advocate for the Alaska Marine Highway System and Essential Air Service for the community.
“By authoring and sponsoring a policy position in support of the (Alaska Marine Highway System) that was adopted by both Alaska’s statewide Chamber and its statewide tourism organization (Alaska Travel Industry Association), Cathy has proven herself a champion for sustainable and adequate transportation access in Alaska and elevated the voices of our members and community,” said Phillips in the nomination letter.
The letter went on to discuss Renfeldt’s accomplishments, including her time as a public information officer for the City of Cordova’s Incident Management Team at the beginning of the pandemic, the launch of her Come Back Better Campaign and her strengthening of partnerships to help form the Prince Williams Sound Business S.M.A.R.T. (Supporting and Managing Alaska Relief Together) program. The program was recognized for playing a big role in garnering roughly $12 million in relief grants that were given to 230 Cordova based businesses. The letter also mentioned Renfeldt’s time serving as a board member for Cordova Arts and Pageants, her championing the Blue Economy movement (an ocean-based business), and her heavy involvement responding to fires and providing medic services with the Cordova Volunteer Fire Department, times which she holds dear.
“When you look at the CVFD roster you can see that it’s pretty diverse: young and old, all walks of life, different perspectives and political beliefs all together, putting their time and energy and heart towards the same goal. It’s one of the more beautiful things for sure,” Renfeldt said.
For Renfeldt, her career is purpose-driven, and where she is now is a testament to that mind set.
“I feel like the work I am doing matters and I can see tangible results in the community, and it feels really good. I am really grateful for this honor, and I am certainly grateful for the opportunity to do work that makes me feel so fulfilled,” she said.
What, in her eyes, are important things happening for her and the chamber?
“I think there are some big projects that are coming to fruition that I have been working on during my entire tenure and they have been building up to this moment, so that’s exciting. One of them is the Business Empowerment Summit that we did. To also see the mariculture industry in Cordova taking off, there is a lot of support for it from a lot of different agencies. It’s really exciting,” said Renfeldt.
Renfeldt and the chamber are helping Cordova, “Alaska’s friendly city,” pave the way with the creation of the Regenerative Tourism Destination Strategy for conscious travelers. Renfeldt and her team created the campaign because they want to do tourism in the community right.
“We don’t want to let tourism happen to us; we want to get in the driver’s seat and say this is what we want for our future. This is how we are going to invite the type of people that are going to appreciate this town and help them have a positive impact while they are here,” Renfeldt said.
