The Chamber

O: 970-744-4791
bwillms@loveland.org

Brian Willms is the President/CEO of the Loveland Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. An accomplished chamber professional, Willms utilizes his expertise in management, sales, marketing, public affairs and banking to effectively identify and execute the needs of Loveland’s business community. In this capacity, Willms is responsible for building the vision and future of the Chamber, maintaining the financial viability of the organization, driving fundraising efforts, as well as building and maintaining an effective staff of employees, chamber committees, ambassadors and volunteers.

Prior to assuming his role at the Loveland Chamber, Willms served as the Director of Member Services for the Portland Business Alliance, the Greater Portland Area’s Chamber of Commerce in Portland, Oregon. He also worked as a corporate trainer for Liberty Savings and US Bank, in addition to owning his own mortgage company.

A native of Colorado, Willms attended Regis University and Metropolitan State College of Denver. He resides in Loveland with his wife, Marcie, and two daughters, Taryn and Annika.

Be sure to check out Brian's Blog, "From Where I Stand...", to learn his thoughts on business, Loveland, Northern Colorado and the Chamber!

O: 970-744-4793
jworthen@loveland.org

Also known as the Loveland Chamber’s chief entertainer, Jim Worthen has been with the Loveland Chamber of Commerce since April 2005. Worthen has played a hand in many of the Chamber’s programs and events and currently leads all investor programs and sales. If you are looking to become a member - Jim is your guy.

Worthen has a long-standing history with the Loveland Chamber, serving on the Board of Directors from 1996 through 2004 and serving as president/chairman of the Board in 1999.

Prior to the Chamber, Worthen spent 17 years leading marketing and educational teams with several high tech companies, including IBM and Microsoft where he lead programming throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. As a former professional entertainer, Worthen uses his 18-years of experience with guitar and vocal on a smaller scale, performing around the community and at several Loveland Chamber events, including the annual Valentine Re-mailing Program.

Jim and his wife Vickie currently reside in Loveland where they have lived for more than 25 years. They have a daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren also living in Loveland and a son in Windsor.

O: 970-744-4792
nhegg@loveland.org

Nicole Hegg is the communications and events manager of the Loveland Chamber of Commerce. With more than five years of experience in communications and event planning, Hegg uses her expertise to plan, manage and execute all aspects of public relations and event planning for the Chamber including the Annual Investors’ Meeting and Loveland’s world-renowned Valentine Re-mailing Program. In addition, Hegg oversees the planning, writing and editing for AWARE, the Chamber’s print newsletter as well as the electronic newsletter distributed to investors.

Hegg joined the Chamber in August 2009 following a successful career at Denver-based VisiTech PR where she managed international public relations efforts for high-technology companies including Namco Networks and Polycom. Prior to working at VisiTech PR, Hegg drove promotions, event planning and pubic relations efforts for Turner PR in the real estate and tourism industries.

A graduate of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., Hegg serves as an advisor to the college’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) organization through her involvement in PRSA Colorado’s student outreach committee. In this capacity, Hegg plays a hand in developing and executing ‘Engage’, an event designed to prepare and inspire college students interested in pursuing a career in communications.

A native of Colorado Springs, Hegg now resides in Northern Colorado with her fiance Dominick and cat Xevious.

O: 970-744-4796
bmeans@loveland.org

Known as a relationship expert, Brian Means is the business development manager for the Loveland Chamber of Commerce. Means joined the team in April 2010 bringing to the Chamber exceptional experience in many areas of business and sales. Means drives sales opportunities related to Chamber investments, sponsorships and advertisements.

After attending Northeastern State College in Oklahoma, Means assembled a strong resume through his work with many prominent companies. He has experience with Fidelity Savings and Investments, served as the Y2K compliant implementations manager for Aegis Communications Group, spent three years as a small business trainer for Franklin Covey and spent five years as a corporate trainer for Countrywide Financial Corporation. In addition to his corporate career, Means previously owned and operated his own small business for six years in Dallas prior to moving to Colorado. Most recently, Means served as executive assistant to the CEO at InfoMedia Inc. in Loveland, where his role included training, travel and schedule coordination and technology and blog management.

Means joined the Loveland community in August 2008 and resides with his wife Karen and two sons, Ryan (23) and Ben (18).

O: 970-667-6311
bgjohnson@loveland.org

Brittany Johnson comes to the Loveland Chamber of Commerce as one of the business work experience interns from Loveland High School. Since June 2010, Johnson has served as a friendly face for the Chamber, greeting members who come in and call for assistance. She manages administrative tasks and enjoys learning the ins and outs of an office environment.

Currently a high school senior, Johnson plans to attend Front Range Community College in Fort Collins post graduation in hopes to eventually become a juvenile probation officer. Born and raised in Loveland, Johnson also enjoys writing poetry and spending time with her family and friends.

O: 970-667-6311
csmith@loveland.org

Cynthia Smith is a business work experience intern from Loveland High School. Smith will help with greeting members who visit the Chamber as well as assist in answering phone calls. She will be gaining managerial experience through day-to-day tasks and learn hands-on office experience.

Smith plans to attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins post graduation and study Biology before going to optometry school. Originally from Denver, Smith was raised for most of her life in Virginia Beach, Va. She also enjoys reading, watching movies and hanging out with friends.

O: 970-667-6311
printern@loveland.org

David Kimble is a recent graduate from the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Greeley. Kimble joins the team as a public relations intern, a role that enables him to contribute to the overarching strategic communications plan through the development of tactics such as compiling and developing the Loveland Chamber weekly e-newsletter, drafting articles for the bimonthly AWARE newsletter, writing press materials and web copy, managing the Loveland Chamber’s coverage reports, media lists and designing advertisements.

Kimble graduated from UNC with a degree in journalism and mass communication with an emphasis in public relations and media advertising and a minor in English studies. Prior to graduation, Kimble helped with the UNC Community Arts Department as a public relations assistant helping with the bi-weekly campus community arts e-newsletter and posting campus happenings through his UNC Bearblog.

Kimble graduated from Loveland High School in 2004 and is excited to be back in Loveland where he was born and raised. He plans to start the post graduation job search in the Front Range area while spending his free time mountain biking, hiking and running.

O: 970-667-6311
smintern@loveland.org

Katie Perron, currently a student at Colorado State University (CSU) joins the Loveland Chamber as its first social media intern. Known as northern Colorado’s leading technology Chamber, strategic planning and implementation of social media tools is a key component to the Chamber’s communications structure. In this role, Perron manages the day-to-day management of the Chamber’s numerous social media outlets including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube and is responsible for compiling execution and timeline plans for upcoming campaigns and initiatives and assisting the communications manager with managing the Loveland Chamber’s online reputation.

Perron is entering her senior year at CSU working on a technical journalism degree with a concentration in public relations and a minor in business administration. She plans to graduate in May of 2011.

Outside of the Chamber, Perron writes for a New York-based fashion website collegefashionista.com, and works part-time at Tula, a clothing boutique in Fort Collins. Apart from her busy work schedule, Perron still manages to find time for her two great passions – competitive horse riding and traveling.

O: 970-667-6311
eventintern@loveland.org

If you’re planning to attend one of this year’s Chamber events you’re sure to run into our events intern from Colorado State University (CSU), Kate West. As an event intern, West will assist the Chamber events manager with the planning and execution of all Chamber events. This includes contributing promotional materials such as fliers, web copy and event descriptions, brainstorming topics and setting up speakers for our In Focus series, coordinating host walk through meetings and event set-up and tear-down for Business After Hours, Business Before Hours, Member Orientations, In Focus Series, STIR Loveland young professionals mixers and educational events and the Old Fashioned Corn Roast Festival.

West is native to Waukesha, Wis. and moved to Loveland with her family in August 2002. She plans on graduating from CSU in May 2011 with a degree in journalism and technical communication with a dual concentration in public relations and news editorial writing and a minor in business administration.

West served as the president of public relations for the Phi Epsilon chapter of the Kappa Delta sorority at CSU where she was responsible for all advertising material and public outreach. As a part-time job, West works at Wilbur’s Total Beverage in Fort Collins while leaving some free time open to try and hone her German background by taking German language classes at Front Range Community College.