MURRAY -- Judi Amthor-Henley always could convince business owners to donate items for fund-raisers.

Whether she was serving as safety commissioner for her PTA or on the Ladies Guild for St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Amthor-Henley developed her touch during years of volunteering.Now she is putting those same skills and business contacts to work as president and chief executive officer of the Murray Area Chamber of Commerce.

Amthor-Henley took over leadership of the 50-year-old chamber in June after serving 18 months as membership director at the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce.

After about six months in the position, Amthor-Henley has helped the Murray chamber's membership grow from 191 to 255, and it should add 15 more members by the end of the year.

The push for new members is part of Amthor-Henley's effort to serve the Murray business community and make the chamber a driving force in the south Salt Lake Valley.

But she will not forget how serving as a volunteer while she and her husband of 25 years worked to raise their four children has helped her.

"I am a very busy person, but not too busy for my family," Amthor-Henley said.

In fact, her family background helped lead her into chamber work. Amthor-Henley said her interest in helping businesses was sparked by her mother, who worked for 20 years with the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry.

"I really learned a lot from my mom," she said.

Amthor-Henley has used her background and enthusiasm to institute new programs and policies at the chamber.

For example, she said, she has started a weekly meeting where business people can exchange leads. And visitors to the chamber's Internet site (www.murraychamber.net) can link directly from it to the home pages of member businesses.

The Murray chamber also just gained five new people on its 12-member board, Amthor-Henley said, and she is working to improve the chamber's "School-to-Career" program.

Amthor-Henley juggles planning, directing the chamber's sales efforts and attending several weekly ribbon cuttings with the help of just one other full-time staff member. But she said city officials and chamber board members are extremely helpful.

"The biggest challenge is being able to do one thing at a time, because I do wear many hats," she said. "With growth comes growing pains and changes, but I can accommodate that. . . . I'm involved in as many activities as I possibly can be to run an effective chamber."

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Amthor-Henley said she thinks Murray's business community has a lot to offer, including space available for leasing, a historic downtown area and opportunities for new development on the 141-acre American Smelter and Refining Co. site that has been home to two historic smokestacks.

Those attributes should help Murray grow, and Amthor-Henley said she is ready to help the chamber grow with it.

"This is a perfect position for me, because I love getting people together," she said. "I also feel I have a special ability to connect a person with a particular business.

"A lot of people don't find their niche in life. I have."

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