CORNING – Chris Calhoun, President and Chief Business Development Manager of Norwich Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Norwich, was chosen to receive the Communication and Leadership Award from Toastmasters, an international public speaking and leadership organization. Calhoun received the award at a luncheon Saturday, April 24 during Toastmasters’ annual Spring District 65 Conference at the Radisson Hotel in Corning. Calhoun’s work with Norwich Pharmaceuticals and his service to community organizations make him a worthy recipient.
Leadership and communication, the two key principles of Toastmasters, have been a big part of Calhoun’s career and life. His use of these skills has allowed him to grow as a leader. This has yielded a positive impact on students, families, and young people with everything Calhoun has done and continues to do.
Originally from the Watkins Glen and Corning area, Calhoun graduated from Clarkson University in 1984 with a degree in chemical engineering. That same year, he was hired by Proctor and Gamble Pharmaceuticals in Norwich. Over the next 10 years, he built his leadership skills through many roles for the company. From 1984-1993, Calhoun worked in plant engineering, served as a Production Team Manager, and was a Product Development Staff Scientist. The next two years, he was Section Head of Process Development.
Away from the job, Calhoun is the Assistant Director of the Norwich High School Field Band. He has been involved with the band for approximately 20 years. He has shown a unique talent for teaching, communicating, and leading. He gets the most out of students by motivating them to strive for excellence. Blending the right mix of constructive criticism and praise, Calhoun encourages students to challenge themselves. Through this technique, students have accomplished what they thought they could not. For example, one student took on the new challenge of being a drum major, something he thought he couldn’t do. Yet, through Calhoun’s encouragement, the student succeeded.
Calhoun’s enthusiasm also shows with the band as a whole. Before performances he has the band gather around him while he energetically sings the performance from memory. Students sing their parts along with him helping them “get-in-the-zone” for the performance. At one point in time, this helped the band complete nearly two undefeated seasons of competition and win two New York State Championships.
Just as he has left his mark on the band, Calhoun has also done so in his job. Fourteen years after working in Norwich, he transferred to Mason, Ohio for work. However, when the Norwich plant was sold to new owners, he returned to Norwich and was offered a job as Vice-President which he accepted. Five years later, Calhoun was named President of Norwich Pharmaceuticals, one of his greatest achievements.
Calhoun also contributes his time to several other organizations such as Opportunities for Chenango (OFC) which helps individuals and families become successful and self-sufficient members of the community. OFC is the largest not-for-profit organization in Chenango County. As a member of the Resource Development Committee (RDC), Calhoun helped to develop a fundraising initiative to seek out gifts for the First-Time Home Buyers program. This program helps members of the community purchase homes in a responsible way. In growing this program, Calhoun gathered strong support from local banks and has become President of the Board of Directors for OFC. Calhoun also serves on the Boards of Directors for Commerce Chenango and Chenango Memorial Hospital.
District 65 of Toastmasters covers the Western, Central, and Southern regions of New York State, including Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Ithaca, and surrounding areas to these cities. The district is comprised of 101 clubs which include almost 2,000 members. Clubs operate on the basis of learning public speaking by doing and then improving through practice and evaluation. For more information on Toastmasters, go to www.toastmasters.org.