The Mill Valley Chamber has a longstanding Ambassador Program, whereby business owners and employers in various industries go above and beyond in a variety of ways to support the Chamber and its members.
That often means propelling our After Hours hosts to put their best foot forward, making sure the events include tasty bites and beverages, fun raffle prizes showcasing our members and spotlighting our local businesses.
Kathy Bakhshandeh, the Chamber’s Office & Visitor Center Manager, coordinates the Ambassador Program. Reach out here if you’re interested in learning more about the program.
O’Keefe initially focused on patient intake during a period of time when AIDS patients were getting sick and dying at horrific rates. He was then promoted to run the medical group, serving as a manager and liaison for 150 physicians. He later worked for Blue Cross for two years, and then sold practice management software to doctors for a stretch.
He then took on a role at Chrisad, a marketing agency in Corte Madera for dental practices. The move included a ton of travel, which he eventually had to step back from since he had young kids. That was followed by some time in tech sales and in the legal space.
At a convention, he met a veteran insurance agent who identified O’Keefe as someone who is very good with people. He told him, “Go to one of the big life insurance companies – that’s where you’ll get the best training.” O’Keefe took the advice and ended up at New York Life for more than two years.
“That’s when I met you,” O’Keefe says of the Chamber, noting that local connections within the Chamber and BNI yielded an array of career possibilities, including a role as an agent for David Wong at State Farm.
In the years prior, O’Keefe bumped into Kevin Sullivan at a Chamber event, and they became friends. “Because we had been getting to know each other, we started working out a scenario where I worked with him,” O’Keefe says.
Sullivan realized that O’Keefe would be a great complement to his firm. Now the pair meets a couple of times a week at the Depot, going through leads and policies on their laptops, and otherwise working from their respective homes.
For O’Keefe, it all comes back to relationships.
“When I had my own business, I looked at all these chambers of commerce. “You (the Mill Valley Chamber) were the only one who actually called me. You told me about your Christmas party – ‘you should come!” “A ton of introductions have come ever since.”