For Elyce Curry, it’s all about making things better.

“I have a sign in my office that says ‘Someday I will change the world,’” she said, “and to me, vicksburg is my world. If I can leave this place a little better than what I found it, I’ll be doing all right.”

Affecting that change begins with the job she’s held for several years as membership recruitment and services coordinator for the Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce; a position that allows her to pursue new members and retain chamber members and develop its Young Professionals group for business people ages 21 to 40.

“(Former chamber director) Christy Kilroy recruited me,” she said. “She recruited me over the course of about a year or two. After my second child, I agreed. I said ‘why not, I know the hospitality and tourism side (as a sales representative for the Hampton Inn), let me see the economic development side.’

“I feel like we’re taking a proactive approach toward showing businesses what we have and what the chamber can provide for their business, and I feel like we’re doing a pretty good job at that.”

Besides recruiting, Curry has also done ribbon cuttings and spoke to several groups about the chamber and it services.

“We’re a membership organization with a focus on the community and we do a lot of our work through collaboration with other organizations, and businesses, and through that collaboration, we’re able to promote other members and grow the chamber,” she said.

The Young Professionals Group was developed, she said, to provide an avenue for young professionals to network and have professional development.

“What we try to do is add value to the chamber membership by revamping this program,” she said.

“I feel we’re doing a great job. It gets them engaged in the community gets them networking with other like-minded young professionals.

“They gain access to professional development, and one of the best parts about this group is I expose these new young professionals to everything Vicksburg has to offer as far as attractions.”

Outside of the chamber, Curry is a member of the Junior Auxiliary and the United Way Campaign Committee. She also participated in Leadership Vicksburg in 2015, and worked in a project to help young parents.

“One thing I’m proud of involved my activity with Leadership Vicksburg last year,” she said. “One of the projects was a community baby shower, and it was an awesome event. My heart could not have been in one place more.”

The project raised funds to purchase items for the Vicksburg Family Development and Cary Christian Center to clothes closets and pantries and enable young mothers to be able to acquire new clothing.

“We were able to raise items for the two closets; it was an honor and a privilege, and I’m so glad they received us ands allowed us to do that for them,” she said.

Curry began her service with United Way of West Central Mississippi while working at the Hampton Inn, serving as a United Way liaison for Central Mississippi Prevention Services.

“I was getting my feet wet with United Way, and Katie Farrell asked me to join the campaign,” she said. “I love United Way, I love what it represents in this community, and I love to help in the services they provide, so this is my way to give back.

As a member of the prospective division, she helped people invest in United Way and worked on projects like the telethon and color run.

She accepted a nomination for membership in the Junior Auxiliary, and is in her provisional year.

“I accepted a nomination in October,” she said. “I saw what they did in the community and I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of developing and growing our children because at the end of the day, they are the ones who are going to support us.

“They’re the ones who are going to make this community better, so why not invest in that, and this group does that. Having two small children myself, I just couldn’t see saying no to this.”

The group’s provisional project is called “Heart to Heart,” and involves working with the Girls Club of Vicksburg Family Development and teaching them to give back to the community.

“You don’t always have to give back monetarily,” Curry said. “You can give back of yourself and it can be just as good, if not better.”

Saturday, the group goes to Covenant Health and Rehab for a Valentines party for the residents.

Curry said her desire to give back comes from the sense of community she feels for the city.

“This is my grandfather’s community, this is my mom’s community; it’s now my community. I love it here. There’s something about Vicksburg. I want to leave my mark.”