For Jennifer Moutrie, it’s all about community

Jennifer Moutrie has been an integral part of the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Board of Directors for five years now.

After being asked to join the board in November 2016, she officially began her first year in January 2017.

She has held several different positions throughout the years, serving as treasurer, vice president, and currently the president.

Moutrie’s term will expire in December of this year.

“I will remain on the board for one more year,” Moutrie said. “As of December 2022, I will have completed my sixth and final year as a board member and will step aside at that time to allow another Chamber member the opportunity to serve on the board.”

During her time, she’s enjoyed working alongside other members of the Chamber to better the community and Henry County as a whole.

“For me, the most rewarding part of serving on the Chamber board has been collaborating and networking with other members to enhance the quality of life, as well as the betterment of the Henry County community,” she said. “I believe great volunteers and leaders are the glue that hold a community together. With that being said, I have been fortunate enough to have been able to work together and witness first hand some pretty amazing leaders and volunteers right here in our community.”

Moutrie has her hands on another business, Moutrie Trucking.

Moutrie Trucking was opened in 1997 by her husband, Brad. He had been in the transportation business for five years at that point and always wanted to own his own business.

In the early stages, her role was to “provide encouragement and financial support,” she said.

“For several years, we lived solely off of my income as we used all of the earning Brad made to build the business,” she added.

It wasn’t until 2013 that she joined the business full time. Today, she holds several duties.

“Today, my role is filled with many responsibilities,” Moutrie said. “From marketing, keeping up with industry regulations and our company website to cleaning toilets. As any small business owner would tell you, I wear many hats and am a jack of all trades.”

Before her time at the Chamber and with Moutrie Trucking, she worked for 18 years as a speech-language pathologist to begin her career.

After grad school, for four years, she worked at the Stroke Rehab unit at Burlington Medical Center — now Great River Medical Center — where she treated adult patients with a “wide range of cognitive and communication disorders.”

Shortly after having children, she worked for 14 years for Great Prairie Area Education Agency as an speech-language pathologist and administrator of individual education plans for special education students.

Each of her roles provided a great deal of assistance.

“As an SLP, I treated school-age children with communication disorders,” she said. “In my role as Web IEP administrator, I provided hands-on training and troubleshooting with the state web-based IEP program to all the special education teachers and support staff in the Great Prairie AEA region.”

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