Terry Ambrozi: 43 years ‘in the front seat’ at the Chamber
If you’ve called the Chamber office over the last 43 years, you’ve probably talked to Terry Ambrozi. With her bright smile and warm personality, Ambrozi has had the front seat to an evolving chamber of commerce for more than four decades.
She serves as the Finance Assistant at the Quad Cities Chamber. The job, she said, includes answering phones, updating databases, posting payments, depositing checks, writing thank yous, manning the office, and “other duties as assigned.”
“I’m the behind-the-scenes girl,” she said.
Yet, what brings her front and center is the duty she finds most rewarding, being that friendly face at the front desk when people come in the door.
“I’m the Chamber mom,” she said, and she has a homemade name badge to prove it, courtesy of one of many admiring colleagues.
“You turn into a Dear Abby at times,” she added, referring to the famous advice columnist. “Now we have HR to go and talk to people. But back in the day it was not a thing. Staff members would have issues, and you offer up whatever help you could. Whether listening or ways to help with a job, whether the problems were personal or business, I was a safe place to come to. And I enjoyed that.”
Terry has a long history with the Chamber – June marked her 43rd year – but she doesn’t feel like she’s worked a day in her life, at least, not in the usual sense of “work.”
“If you love what you’re doing, it doesn’t feel like work,” she said. Her job titles have changed, but for the most part the work remains the same. “When I first started there were only three of us,” she said, referring to her time at the Rock Island Chamber. “I answered phones, did clerical work and put on events like the golf outing. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you all my job titles throughout the years.”
Sometimes, she said, someone would mistakenly call her believing they were calling directory assistance. Always one to help, she would answer their questions. “I get a lot of older people call me to help them with their computer or with assistance, like helping them with directions,” she said. “They think I’m 4-1-1. I get calls like ‘what’s going on this weekend?’ I love connecting people.”
She’s watched the various local Chambers merge into one regional Chamber, and through it all she’s always had a front desk position. “I’ve always been the receptionist who answers the phone and greets people,” she said. “Those have always been my main duties. And that’s what I enjoy doing the most.”
She owes her career start to a teacher at Rock Island High School. When former Rock Island Chamber assistant director George Miller visited her clerical skills class, the teacher, Ken Johnson, recommended Terry for a job. She started June 4, 1979, two days before her high school graduation. “I was totally surprised and excited,” she said. “I got a job, and I’m not out of high school yet.”
At the time the Rock Island Chamber was at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 20th Street. As a sign of the times, the office included a mimeograph machine, which was a precursor to a photocopier. “That was going out the door when I was walking in the door, and I barely used it when I started on a typewriter,” she said.
The Rock Island Chamber eventually merged with the Moline and East Moline Chambers to create the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce. In 2010, the Illinois and Iowa chambers formed the Quad Cities Chamber. Before merging, there used to be fierce competition between the various local Chambers. “It was like being in high school,” she said. “You cheer for your team. Everything was red and gold (Rock Island High School’s colors). Our job was to help Rock Island businesses grow. Individual Chambers did it for their own cities.”
In recent years the Chamber has focused on the QC as a region. Terry credits this “regional mindset” to championing a new Interstate 74 bridge, which was completed in 2020. “I never thought I’d see a new I-74 bridge,” she said. “My grandfather helped build the original one.”
Even after 43 years, she said she has no plans to retire. “Why?” she asks. “I like my job. I haven’t given thought to retiring.” The mother of three and grandmother to three girls said she feels “very blessed” to be able to continue working while spending a lot of time with family. “I have the perfect blend of both worlds right now,” she said.
Like her teacher who recommended her for her first job at the Chamber, mentors have continued to be an important part of her life. “A lot of them are very community-minded,” she said. “They help mold how important it is to give back to the community. Our world would be a sad place without mentors.”
Most rewarding are the connections she’s made with people in the Quad Cities. “Hopefully somewhere along the lines I’ve touched a few lives,” she said.
Given that she’s so outgoing, she jokes that people would be surprised to learn she was shy and quiet in high school. “I did not raise my hand to answer questions,” she said. “This has really changed my life to where I now speak to everyone. I’ll speak to the cashier at the store and ask how it’s going. It puts a smile on my face, too.”