“Don’t be afraid to try new things.”
Robin Schallie grew up hearing that advice from her father, and she’s always taken it to heart.
Now, at the age of 63, she’s trying something new as the new director of the Iola Area Chamber of Commerce.
And on her first day on the job, she brainstormed a list of things to try.
She wants to connect various entities, helping businesses utilize each other, educational institutions, organizations and local experts in new ways.
“I feel like my job is more of a facilitator,” she explained. “And also as a spark to get people thinking in different ways.”
THOUGH it’s a new role for her, Schallie has always been focused on business and marketing.
She grew up in Neenah, Wisc., an area of about a quarter-million people between Milwaukee and Green Bay.
After earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree, she taught business and marketing for 26 years at Fox Valley Technical College.
She retired in 2014, and decided to move with her husband, Stephen Lust, to his hometown of Iola.
They built a home in the country, creating their own little “hobby farm” with chickens, turkeys and a few cattle.
For a city girl, her new life definitely fell into the category of “trying something new.”
“I didn’t know I could raise chickens until I started to raise chickens,” she said. “My husband laughs and says, the two things you hate are dirt and bugs. So what do we do? Move to the country.
“But I can sit on my deck and not hear anything or see anything. I can decompress and take a breath.”
Soon, though, Schallie started to get a little bored. She wanted to stay active.
