Phil Castle, The Business Times

Andrew Golike believes there’s no time quite like the present to serve as chairman of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

It’s a pivotal moment, Golike says, with a new chamber president and renewed opportunity to assess operations and services. It’s also a good time, he says, to listen — really listen — to what business owners and managers as well as others in the community say they need and want.

“I can’t believe I get to lead this organization right now.”

What won’t change, Golike says, is a commitment to advocacy and representing business interests on local, state and national levels.

He sees a mostly thriving business environment in the Grand Valley that in turn fosters a thriving community. But challenges persist, among them shortages of labor, affordable housing and child care.

Golike starts his year-long term in January. He’ll succeed Ivan Geer, an engineer and owner of River City Consultants.

Golike works as plant manager for CoorsTek, overseeing a growing ceramics manufacturing operation and staff of 350. What started as a temporary job for Golike was anything but in launching a career with CoorsTek that’s evolved through a series of positions and extended over two stints to a total of more than 25 years.

A life-long resident of the Grand Valley, Golike earned a bachelor’s of business administration degree from what’s now Colorado Mesa University after serving four years in the Marine Corps.

He’s long belonged to the Grand Junction chamber. He graduated from a chamber leadership class in 1995 and has twice served on the board of directors. He also served on the search committee that found a new chamber president and chief executive officer in Candace Carnahan.

The chamber board hired Carnahan in September to succeed Diane Schwenke, who retired after working more than 30 years as president and CEO. Carnahan has worked at the chamber for more than seven years in a series of positions that included vice president. “I’m really excited to see her coming on board,” Golike says.

He also hails the new leaders of such other local business organizations as the Business Incubator Center, Grand Junction Economic Partnership and Mesa County Workforce Center. “I think we’re ushering in a new leadership era.”

A change in chamber leadership affords an opportunity, he says, to reassess operations and ask if the ways in which things have always been done remain the best ways. If that’s the case, those approaches will continue. If not, though, changes could be in order to better carry out the mission.

At the same time, he says there’s an opportunity to also listen to business people and others in the community to better understand what they need and how the chamber can not only help, but also strengthen relationships in the process.

Regardless of changes in leadership and possibly the way things are done, the role of the chamber will remain unchanged, Golike says. The organization will continue to serve as a catalyst for growth, convener of leaders and groups and champion for businesses and the community. “We’re an unswerving, unwavering voice for business.”

One of the most important roles of the chamber is to advocate on behalf of businesses before local governments and the Colorado Legislature, he says. That includes lobbying on local and state measures before they’re implemented and helping businesses deal with measures after they’re implemented. Unlike other groups, the chamber represents businesses of all sizes and from all industry sectors, he says.

Among other issues, businesses face shortages of labor, affordable housing and child care that affect their operations. It’s also an ongoing challenge to educate and develop the workforce to meet the changing needs of the workplace, he says.

Golike says he’s excited about his upcoming year as chamber chairman for another reason, and that’s his desire to help maintain the vibrancy of the place in which he’s lived most of his life.

CoorsTek has helped, he says, in operating an advanced manufacturing facility in Grand Junction. The facility produces a variety of technical ceramic products for everything from electronics to medical devices to the armor that protects military personnel and vehicles. The operation has grown along with the staff employed there and the revenue it brings into the community from customers around the world.

“It’s very gratifying,” he says. “What better place for that to happen than Grand Junction?”