When Steve Latour heard about the open position at Westfield Chamber of Commerce, he knew it was the right fit for him.
Latour began his new career as executive director of the chamber Sept. 8.
Latour is a former CEO of a nationwide nonprofit and foundation and most recently served as the chief housing officer for Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity’s national house corporation.
“Having been in the Greek and nonprofit world for a number of years, I wanted to get more involved in city government and local nonprofits,” Latour said. “So when I heard about this opportunity, I thought this would be a good fit with the membership organization (experience) that I have had and my communications background would be good for a growing city like Westfield.”
A Westfield resident, Latour, 40, has a civic involvement with the community. He is president of the Ashford Place HOA, a neighborhood near Moontown Road and 186th Street.
“It’s a newer subdivision, so since we are a new HOA. That’s taken some time,” he said.
Latour also is the president-elect of the Westfield Youth Assistance Program and is helping plan the Oct. 1 Yellow Tie Gala.
Latour moved to Indiana in 2005. In 2014, he moved to Kansas City, Mo., to work for Sigma Tau Gamma. When the fraternity board moved its headquarters to Indianapolis, he moved to Westfield in 2018.
Latour wants to meet as many members as possible within the first 60 days of his new position.
“I just want to try to get out there and hear from folks and understand how they’re doing. Obviously, we are in this unprecedented pandemic, and I want to know how that’s impacting their business,” Latour said. “I’m interested in meeting with the small businesses, the large businesses. I want to meet with farmers that have companies here in Westfield. I want to meet with everybody I can, even the nonmembers of the chamber, to get a sense of where are they, how is Westfield weathering this storm we are in right now and what does it look like going forward, and what role can the chamber play helping to support everybody.
“I’m curious to see where they think we do well and where we can improve.”
Anyone with questions, concerns or comments can contact Latour by email at [email protected].
“I would love for people to reach out to set up a meeting,” Latour said. “If they don’t want to meet, I would love to hear their thoughts. This is such a cool moment for Westfield to have all the growth it’s experienced and change it’s experiencing, and I want to see how we as a chamber can keep evolving with that and keep helping everybody go forward.”
Past president Nick Verhoff will serve with the chamber until November as president emeritus to ensure a smooth transition.
For more, visit westfield-chamber.org.
Meet Steve Latour
Resides: Ashford Place, Westfield
Age: 40
Personal: Single, no children but wants to adopt a Labrador or golden retriever by next year
Hobbies: Working out, reading, keeping in touch with family and friends and spending time with nephews.
Organization involvement: Ashford Place HOA, Westfield Youth Assistance Program
