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Community
Community
IRON RIVER — It was at Northern Michigan University, while studying radiography to become an X-ray technologist, that Zach Hautala realized he was, at heart, a people person.
“I was doing well in the program, but it just wasn’t my fit — sitting in a room, dealing with patients really quickly,” Hautala said.
Hautala, a Forest Park graduate who recently stepped into the position of chamber director for the Iron County Economic Chamber Alliance, withdrew from the program and eventually went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in public relations, with a minor in management.
“I would say most people would agree that my forte is working with people on a constant basis, I guess,” he continued. “My best skill working in radiography was working with the patient one-on-one. Well, you only work with them for 5-10 minutes and then they’re gone, and you’re doing other things not that involved with direct patient contact. So, I just knew I wanted something a little bit more hands-on working with people.”
After graduating and a brief stint working with his uncle in residential excavation, Hautala took a position in 2018 with Northern Interstate Bank in Crystal Falls (formerly First National Bank of Crystal Falls).
Hautala described it as a transitional time at the financial institution, which was restructuring after a spring 2017 merger. He started out as a loan trainee before moving into the position of consumer lender. He stayed with the bank for two and a half years.
“I’ve been pretty involved with the community, working with the (Crystal Falls) Business Association as Northern Interstate’s rep there, staying involved with my church...and then just being involved with the community, attending sporting events at Forest Park, and doing whatever I can to help volunteer in other ways.”
Hautala served on the bank’s marketing committee, where he enjoyed strategizing on how the bank could strengthen its connection to the community through advertising, partnerships and other activities.
But the committee only met for two hours every other week, and the rest of the time, Hautala was still engaging with community members from behind a desk. So, when Mark Bromley, the ICECA’s managing director, approached him about a position on the organization’s board of trustees, Hautala inquired about the vacant chamber director position. He started in May of 2021.
“When I left (the bank), they were extremely positive and encouraging,” Hautala said. “Again, my forte is working with people and being more out in the community and being active, where I didn’t have much opportunity at the bank (to do) that.”
These days, Hautala can barely sit still.
“I could be up in Amasa for part of the day, then back down to Crystal (Falls) ... I could be working in Iron River, then go out to one of the more rural businesses...It’s not the same thing every day, you’re talking to different people...We want to see more of my time spent out in the community, getting out there, asking people how their business is going.”
Hautala is taking on this position at a unique time for both the businesses community and the ICECA.
Businesses, particularly small rural businesses, are still trying to recover from the economic impacts of a pandemic that threatened the livelihoods of many. Meanwhile, the ICECA is working to woo the Iron County Board of Commissioners back into a more long-term financial relationship, after funding from the county stopped shortly before the pandemic started.
“There’s a lot of optimism in the community, the business community and even in the health care community, that we’re going to get out of this here sooner rather than later,” he said.
The ICECA’s June 2021 report noted 12 local restaurants that had applied for a Restaurant Revitalization grant through the Small Business Association, several of which had already received substantial grants. Though for many businesses, and restaurants in particular, finding employees remains a struggle.
“When the capacity restrictions are lifted on July 1, I think that will help a lot to attract some workers,” Hautala said. “Everyone knows that for waitstaff and bartenders, a majority of their income comes from tips...And if you can only operate at half capacity...that does cut into potentially half of their income.”
With Hautala on board to focus internally on the health of the county’s established businesses, Bromley intends to shift his focus to more outward-looking economic development work: attracting and retaining a viable workforce, drawing in new businesses, helping to address a dearth in affordable housing, and marketing the county as a tourist destination.
“Quite frankly, he’s the perfect fit for this job,” Bromley said of Hautala’s qualifications. “He’s an outgoing person, his connections within the community on both sides of the county. He’s very well-known and well-respected and that opens up a lot of doors, but just his work ethic and passion for making things better here in Iron County – that came through strong in the interview and our interactions with Zach prior to that, it just makes him the ideal candidate for this job.”
The ICECA and the Iron County Board of Commissioners are currently in discussion regarding funding, and though the issue has been discussed regularly in public and private meetings, no tangible commitment has yet been made.
Prior to the pandemic, the county had funded the organization to the tune of just over $35,000 annually for the previous three years. The ICECA made a funding request at the board’s May general meeting for $36,000. At that time, the commissioners rejected the proposal and asked Bromely to present more specifics in terms of how the money would be spent and what the anticipated return on the county’s investment would be.
“Economic development doesn’t always work that way,” Bromley said. “It’s a building-block type of thing. One success builds on top of the other successes.”
The ICECA’s original proposal suggested quarterly payments, providing the county opportunity to review the organization’s performance and vote to withhold payment if deliverables were deemed insufficient.
“When you talk about funding, I think it’s interesting because the money is certainly important, but almost as important as the dollars is the commitment from the county,” Bromley explained. “Because we’re also funded by other municipalities, and they want to see that commitment from the county before they get too involved and renew their pledge to our organization.”
Part of Bromley’s long-term plan involves continuing education for Hautala that would allow him to transition into the role of economic developer — a position the county commissioners had expressed interest in, but one which Bromley noted is difficult to fill if potential candidates can’t be confident of ICECA’s local support.
“I want that commitment from the county, saying that, ‘Yes, we know we have to have economic development; we like what the ICECA has been doing in the past, and we’re going to fund them and support them,’” Bromley said. “That’s what I’m interested in seeing from our county board members. We’re working on that and ... we’re making progress.”
Hautala is interested in the opportunity for his own professional growth within the ICECA but said right now it’s not a top priority for him.
“Definitely it’s one of those goals to look forward to,” Hautala said. “My forte is definitely the moving around, getting people to collaborate, cooperate and network...But if I can get everyone in the county on a good platform and at a good pace, I would love to move up and concentrate on bringing more (business) in. But I would really prefer to be at a certain point before doing that.”