Meet Makella!

Hello Chamber members! My name is Makella Knowles, and for the next nine months I will be serving as the Chamber’s Events and Communications Coordinator. I’d love to share with you a little bit about me and how I ended up here, before diving into the purpose of this blog and my role with the Chamber.

While I was originally born in Nashville, Tennessee, I’ve grown up in North Carolina and I consider Charlotte, specifically Indian Trail, my hometown. I went to high school in Stallings, and in May of last year, I graduated from Gardner-Webb University with a BA in English and minors in cultural studies and marketing. After graduation, I started work as the lead barista at a local cafe in Matthews, eventually growing into the role of cafe manager. A little over a year later, I enrolled in The Winston-Salem Fellows program for 2026-27, which is how I landed here at the Chamber!

I am already loving my role on this team. It’s only been three weeks, but I already feel right at home with the Chamber and its members—I can’t wait to get to know as many of you as I can!

So What’s The Winston-Salem Fellows Program?

The Winston-Salem Fellows Program, a chapter of The Fellows Initiative, creates an intentional Christ-centered community of recent college graduates by providing vocational experience, communal living, church involvement, and spiritual disciplines. During the program, Fellows have the opportunity to gain work experience, meet other believers in the same walk of life, travel, build a church family, and become invested in a local community. Since 2022, the Chamber has partnered with the WS Fellows by providing an internship position—I am honored to be the fourth Fellow in that role!

My Role in the Chamber

As you all know, the Chamber is a melting pot of community, culture, and connection. When I first met Denise and Angelia during my virtual interview, I knew right away the Chamber was where I wanted to be. I found this job through the Fellows Program, but I believe the real story is that it found me. My degree places me at a unique advantage to not only offer my marketing and social media skills, but my writing skills as well. You’ll likely be getting a lot of emails from me (even if you don’t know it!), seeing lots of social media posts, and running into me at numerous events. On top of that, I am privileged to rekindle the Chamber blog! I’ll be doing event recaps, member spotlights, and informational features. If you might be interested in getting a blog feature, let me know!

September Chamber Meeting Recap

On September 8th, the Chamber hosted its ninth Chamber Meeting of 2026. A sold-out show, we had 11 guests in attendance and over 120 Chamber members. One of our new members, Westtown Restaurant catered lunch, and Tim Beeman with Such-N-Such Media announced our Non-Profits of the Month, Smart Start of Forsyth County and the Triad Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Beautiful centerpieces were provided by Tru Tae Kwon Do as part of our Center of Attention feature, and our Sponsor of the Month was MJS Live Productions. Tracy Buck, entrepreneur and motivational speaker, was our keynote speaker for the day, sharing wonderful tips and tricks on going the second mile in business.

Hosted at the Historic Broyhill in the Magnolia Room, Chamber Meetings occur on the second Tuesday of the month. We’re already eagerly awaiting our October Chamber Meeting! Whether it’s your first or your fiftieth, register now to reserve your spot!

September at a Glance

We’re gearing up for our biggest event of the month, our sold out Pickleball Tournament at Dill Dinkers on the 19th, 9am-3:30pm.

We’re celebrating Bowl’d Up and Glorified Body Well Spa with ribbon cuttings on the 17th and the 25th, and enjoying networking and drinks with Base 95 Co. and Lead Girls at two Business After Hours events on the 22nd and the 24th.

To close out the month, we’ll be hosting the 2026 Active Shooter & Basic CPR Training at the Historic Broyhill on the 29th. Registration is free and spots are still available!

National Be Kind To Editors & Writers Month

You read that *write! I’ve decided to include a silly little fact or feature at the end of each issue, for those extra special Chamber members who actually make it to the end! And since September is National Be Kind To Editors & Writers Month, you can’t make fun of me for my writing puns until October.

Today’s Pun: Writing with a broken pencil is pointless.