Former Roy’s owner is new chamber chief

No more selling roast beef for board’s selection Gould

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Kenneth A. Gould Jr. has replaced Daniel J. Barufaldi Jr., who was asked by the chamber’s executive committee to resign in late April for reasons about which chamber officials won’t comment.

But Barufaldi later told the Maryland Independent that chamber officials told him they ‘‘were not a good match.”

A search committee headed up by John Jilek of Edward Jones Investments began at that time to find a new leader, according to chamber President Helen Heier. Gould began work this week.

Prior to joining the chamber, Gould spent 24 years as co-owner of four Roy Rogers restaurants in Southern Maryland, three of which he closed and one he sold over the years. The last store, in La Plata, closed a year and a half ago after Gould was unable to find a new location in town when the building sold and the restaurant’s lease was terminated.

‘‘We created a lot of great relationships over the years. After I got over feeling sorry for myself because I was sad the restaurant business ended, I started looking around and this opportunity came along. I worked hard to convince [the search committee] I was the right person for the job even though I don’t have specific chamber experience,” Gould said.

He will use his extensive background in customer service and business ownership to ‘‘re-create” relationships among the chamber, county businesses, the Charles County commissioners and state officials, Gould said.

‘‘My promise to the search committee was that it was my intention to begin treating our membership as customers, to combine my expertise with my new position and really make every member of the chamber feel like they’re really getting their return on their investment every year,” Gould, a La Plata resident, said.

‘‘The way things are, with money being tight, people are pulling back. It makes my job a little bit tougher.”

The new leader said he spent the last two months ‘‘picking the brains” of longtime St. Mary’s County and Calvert County chamber presidents Bill Scarafia and Carolyn McHugh, respectively.

His first goal is to make phone contact with each individual chamber member in the next 30 to 45 days to introduce himself and hear feedback and concerns. In the longer term, Gould said he will visit each member at his or her place of business.

Gould said he’s looking forward to getting back in the community, where he is well known because of his family business, after being a stay-at-home dad for a year and a half.

‘‘There’s a lot going on in Charles County, and being in the chamber is a way to be right in the middle of it. It’s not all about the business community. If the business community is doing a good job, it really does involve everybody. I’m really excited. My ultimate goal is to create excitement within the membership. My job at this point is just to fit in and learn as much as I can,” he said.

The chamber’s search committee and executive board thought Gould fit in just fine. They interviewed five candidates from about 30 applicants, and the decision to choose Gould out of three final candidates was unanimous, Heier said.

‘‘[Gould] had an absolute fire in his belly and just really, really energetic and really excited about the opportunity,” said Ken Weikel, president-elect of the chamber’s executive board who also served on the search committee that hired Gould. ‘‘His vast amount of experience in the business community made him a top candidate. We were looking for someone local and he definitely met that criterion, having been in the area over 20 years. His interest and desire to build our membership and also to retain our current members were impressive and exciting.”

‘‘His whole enthusiasm about being new executive director was just one of the things we were looking for, and we need that at this point in time. With his marketing ability and running his own business before, his management skills are excellent. I’m excited about having him here. I just know he will bring a lot of enthusiasm once he gets settled in. He wanted to come right away. He was ready to go,” Heier said.

But it probably won’t take Gould much time to settle into his new role.

‘‘Instead of the being the Roy Rogers guy, I’m going to become the chamber guy. So I’ll tell people, I’m sorry I can’t get you that ‘Double R’ roast beef sandwich anymore, but let me tell you what I can do for you [now],” he said.

‘‘My job is to become the face of the chamber. Hopefully I’ll be here for a very long time.”