Melissa Cross’s place is deep in the mission field. Fortunately for entrepreneurs leading firms of every size and scope, much of her time is spent leading Mobile Chamber initiatives, which will only reach a fresh crescendo in 2024 as chairman of the Chamber’s board of directors. In 2012, the Mobile native pivoted from a career in law and real estate to help run her family’s business — McAleer’s Office Furniture — which was founded by her parents, Jim and Camilla McAleer, and purchased by Cross in 2022. And one of the first diversions Cross made from her father’s way of doing business was becoming involved with the Mobile Chamber.

“I realized that even though we have a great business model, Mobile is a very relationship-driven place,” Cross said. “And for me, coming back to live somewhere I hadn’t lived in 15 years, it was a really good way for me to get involved.” One of her first forays into Chamber programs more than a decade ago continues to reverberate in her business, and those of others. That was the Emerging Leaders group, where she was one of 20 entrepreneurs who gathered to discuss the health and directions of their respective businesses and discuss how to collectively lead Mobile’s business community in dynamic new directions.

For Cross, success continues to create the momentum necessary for greater achievement. While her involvement with the Mobile Chamber was an evolutionary step for McAleer’s leadership, she was wise enough to recognize that under her father’s leadership, their furniture business had enjoyed three decades of building a robust balance sheet and wasn’t going to slow down. “I say this humbly, but my business model of buying an increased inventory was very good, and Dad always said that anything well-bought is half-sold, and there’s more money in buying and selling,” Cross said.

With nearly $1 million in on-stock inventory at the ready for its clients, McAleer’s Office Furniture offers same-day pickup, or next-day delivery for a majority of the furniture it sells. Under Cross’s ownership, McAleer’s has grown through diversification and expansion, as earlier this year she opened a new showroom in Foley, planting the company’s flag square in Alabama’s fastest growing county. Family continues to be an integral part of Cross’s company with her brother, David, operating the Pensacola store, with the help of Cross’s daughter Amber; and their sister, Sarah, handling the new south Baldwin County showroom.

The company has won several significant awards in recent years, including the Chamber’s Small Business of the Year in 2015 and the Business Council of Alabama’s Small Business Game Changer Award the following year. In 2021, when McAleer’s exceeded annual sales of $5 million, the company was named Silver Retailer of the Year by the Alabama Retail Association, with no signs of slowing down.

Many family concerns succeed at the cost of personal relationships, as the lines between business and relation either blur or are erased completely. Which is why Cross said she’s always been adamant that her parents, siblings and children enjoy each other’s company with clear boundaries that there’s a time and place for business, and it should be only be addressed within that space.

“I drew a pretty hard line because my Dad always cautioned that as a small business owner, you don’t really have as much work lifebalance as you always want, and while you own the business, the business also owns you,” she said. “So, we made a tacit agreement to just enjoy family for family, and not talk about work.” While she may not talk about work during family time, during most waking hours it’s nearly impossible to keep Cross from talking about her love of the Mobile Chamber. Since becoming a member of Emerging Leaders, she has served on the Chamber’s Board of Advisors and been an active member of its RAMP mentorship program for small business owners.

For two terms, she led Chamber Chase, the organization’s annual campaign for volunteers to identify new members, sponsors for events, advertisers for Chamber publications and in-kind sponsors for donated goods and services. “Some of the best friends and business contacts I have were developed through Chamber Chase,” Cross said. “It’s such a good way to stay aware of what companies are local and what opportunities there are locally — not just for you and your business but as opportunities to support other businesses.”

Five years ago, Cross set a five-year goal for herself to become “Chamber famous,” which she explained simply means to be involved enough in the organization that she knows most of the member business owners, and they, her. That has culminated in chairing the board of directors in 2024. At its heart, she sees that service as greater amplification of getting the word out about what the Chamber does, and can do, for its members and the community.

“The Mobile Chamber houses the county and the city of Mobile’s economic development arms, and a lot of people don’t know that,” Cross said. “And they don’t know what an advocate they have in the Chamber, especially under the leadership of (President and CEO) Bradley Byrne.”

As chairman of the board, Cross said she is eager to work even more closely with Byrne and the entire Chamber staff creating greater opportunities for area small businesses. Cross believes such companies are the backbone of the local economy, not to mention the Chamber itself, which has a membership that is comprised of 90 percent small businesses.

And she wants to continue a lot of the work outgoing chairman Brent Barkin has begun, expanding the Chamber’s reach into minority communities, including those dominated by blacks, Latinos, Asians and others. “We want to make it our mission in 2024 to bring them in and be more involved in their missions,” she said. “To paraphrase their own initiatives, Mobile begins with M-O-B, which stands for ‘minority-owned business’ and we need to continue to raise awareness and support for those businesses. “They are all part of my Chamber family, and I love them. Helping each of them is my mission.”

Originally Appeared in the January 2024 edition of Mobile Bay Magazine with copy by MICHAEL DUMAS