Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Komar
Hi Abby, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in an east suburb of Cleveland, OH, and after graduating high school attended Malone University and earned my degree in Business Administration and Marketing.
After graduation, I got a job at a non-profit organization called Tiqvah Hands of Hope, an after school program in Canton OH. There. I worked as the Marketing Director as well as the Team Leader, investing in the middle school girls at high school students in the area. This program was dedicated to enhancing the lives of the families in Canton by provide a safe environment; emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I became a mentor to those students and still have a strong relationship with them to this day as I still work at there part time.
Afterwards, I was able to start a new job at the Better Business Bureau of Canton and Greater West Virginia where I was the Marketing and Community Relations Specialist. I spent time in both Ohio and West Virginia planning community events, attending trade shows, and creating business relationships with all different types of people. Ultimately, I felt like I was spending too much time outside of my community and wished to get more involved in Canton.
I worked some different jobs for a few months in hopes to find something meaningful, and finally I was approached about applying for a job at the One Center for Leadership as their Coordinator. This job allows me to be in constant contact with so many different people in the community. A large portion of my job is connecting businesses together to better the community as best as they can. I organize leadership training opportunities, connect people with organizations that fit what they’re looking for, and run the buildings schedule. This job allows me to be invested in the community, encourages interactions with so many different leaders, and gives me the flexibility I need to be intentional with my time and meet new people along the way!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The path to where I am now was not easy. It was filled with a lot of disappointment, lot of questioning if I was on the right path, and lot of hard conversations with myself, my family, and my therapist on what I was looking for out of life, the goals that I have, and who I wanted to be. I had some difficult bosses that deteriorated my self confidence and made me feel incompetent, mental health issues that took a tole on my work ethic and all together drive for a quality life. I found myself just skating by and hoping for the best instead of creating the best for myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As the One Center Coordinator, my job is a mixture of a lot of different things. I maintain the buildings schedule, run the social media pages, do all of the purchasing for the building, organize all of the volunteers, maintain the website, give tours to any organization interested in joining the building, but most importantly, my main job description is building relationships with and within the partners of the building. I connect people to others who can fill their need, bring on new partners who are like-minded individuals, and most importantly I am support; emotionally, spiritually, physically or whatever is needed to the individuals and organizations in the building.
I am the one and only staff member for the ONE Center so all responsibility for the building throughout the week falls on my task list. It is exciting, never the same, and keeps me on my toes.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I think in my position the most valuable characteristic to have is flexibility. NO day is going to be the exact same as the day before. It is important to be able to manage a building to be able to change the mental schedule in my head and readjust to the need at hand. ultimately the most important task is to build relationships. So if I am in the middle of creating the newsletter and a partner comes into my office having a bad day, or needing something, then it takes president over the task at hand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.onecentercanton.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onecentercanton/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneCenterCanton
