By Logan B. Anderson

DOVER — Looking back on a successful career as president of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce, Judy Diogo said she was just doing her job.

“It’s just me doing what I was brought here to do. It humbles me to hear people say I’m leaving this legacy and that I’ve made things happen. I just did the job I was hired to do. I did what I did, and I did it with a lot of people supporting me. I mean, it was amazing,” said Ms. Diogo.

She added that her 17 years of service to Kent County and the First State has also made her more thankful.

“This job has made me more grateful every day. I have loved every day that I walked into this building. I have met the best people. I have got to work with the best businesses in the state. And I have been so blessed. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I can never say thank you enough to all of the people: my staff, to all of the members, to all of the partners, to all of the legislators, to everyone,” she said.

On Sept. 27, Ms. Diogo announced that she would be stepping down from her post at the end of 2021. Last week’s announcement was not a surprise; it came near the end of a five-year leadership changeover.

“When we started this transition plan in 2017, it seemed like we had so much time to work on it, and before you know it, here we are in the final stages of the five-year plan,” said Ms. Diogo. “I am excited about my retirement, and I am excited for the new person who will have the opportunity to lead this wonderful organization.”

During Ms. Diogo’s 17-year tenure, the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce has grown its membership and achieved national recognition.

While she has been at the helm, the organization’s numbers have grown by 40%, reaching its goal of recruiting 1,000 members in 2015.

Since she came on the scene in 2005, CDCC earned three-star accreditations in 2008, 2013 and 2018, along with being named a five-star accredited chamber, the highest designation available, twice.

The Dover-based group has also ranked in the top 4% of all chambers of commerce in the country, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

When asked what initiatives she was most proud of, Ms. Diogo said the Kent County Open for Business (KOB) program and CDCC’s response to COVID-19.

KOB offers free business-development sessions once a month at the Kent County Levy Court building. Those seeking help with their business or entrepreneurial ideas can take advantage of the many resource partners from multiple organizations.

“I came up with the idea for Kent Open for Business, and I contacted all of the partners that we had worked with, and I said, ‘Would you guys be willing to do this?’ Because, again, that takes a village. I can’t do that by myself,” Ms. Diogo said.

Every person or organization she contacted agreed to take part.

“I said, ‘I need you guys to all commit to the first Thursday of every month ... at Kent County Levy Court for two hours and to help whoever walks in the door, and we’re just going to help them.’ Whether it’s to grow their business, start their business, re-create their business, whatever they need,” she said.

Since its start in 2011, KOB has connected with about 800 people seeking business advice and has helped establish 37 enterprises.

In response to the pandemic, again, Mrs. Diogo just did her job.

CDCC never closed. She felt it was essential to stay open and provided what resources she could to her community.

“There were a lot of members who were coming in throughout COVID, asking for help and looking for some assistance. I am glad we were here,” she said.

She gathered resources and people to form a task force to answer her members’ needs. The group created a COVID-19 care package. Each box held personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, gloves and more. The packages went to 350 businesses and were valued at $350.
However, sadly, Kent County lost 53 businesses from April 2020 to June 2021, Ms. Diogo said.

While proud of her and CDCC’s response to the global emergency, COVID-19 sidelined a few projects she wanted to do before she retired.

“COVID threw a wringer in a couple of things,” she said.

One of those was creating a leadership program for area middle and high school students.

“The other is, I wanted to create a solution tank,” she said, explaining that she hoped to tap into all of CDCC’s resources and regional colleges and universities to build a program that could provide real-world answers.

“If a business runs into a problem, we could pull together some students from various universities and members of the professional community and bring them in to provide answers.”

She urges the next CDCC president to take up some of those ideas.

A group has been established and charged with finding Ms. Diogo’s replacement. It is composed of select CDCC Executive Committee members and past CDCC board chairs.

“The CDCC is the best organization with the best members,” she added. “I sincerely hope the next president will have as great an experience as I have had with the CDCC.”

Ms. Diogo will retire Dec. 31 but will stay around as a consultant to help the transition.