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6 n e w h a v e n B I Z | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m O N T H E R E C O R D | Q & A G arrett Sheehan has been a journalist, a soldier and a lawyer. In March he became the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce's first-ever Gen X president — with some big shoes to fill. A native of Middlefield, Sheehan is the son of a general practitioner father, and the only boy in a family of eight children. Today Sheehan, 40, lives in West Hartford with his physician wife and their two children, ages four and two. Formed in 1794, the GNHCC is one of the oldest business groups in the United States, representing businesses and or- ganizations in 15 cities and towns in south-central Garrett Sheehan President, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Top of the World One of the nation's oldest business groups selects a Gen X leader Connecticut. He recently sat down to speak with NEW HAVEN BIZ Editor Michael Bingham. Q. You began your career as a broadcast journalist. What was it like doing TV news? A. I majored in broadcast journalism at Syracuse [class of 2000]. At first I wanted to be a sports broadcaster — until I discovered that everyone else wanted to do that, too. But I've al- ways been interested in the news, current events, so I figured, 'Okay, I'll go do news.' Where did you go to work after graduation? I went to Meridian, Miss. to work at [ABC affiliate] WTOK-TV. I was the morning news anchor, co-producer, weatherman and daytime reporter. It was a small market [laughs]. We were the only TV station in town, and the few people who worked there did everything. It was a great experience. How did you get from a glamorous media career into economic-development work? It really began in Meridian. One of the stories I ended up covering [as a reporter] was when Nissan opened a new manufacturing facility in Jackson, which is about 90 minutes away. We covered a lot of stories about [Nissan] suppliers in Meridian — are suppliers going to locate here, why aren't they locating here, etc. In doing that reporting I really stumbled upon all these com- munities that have different business [conditions] and that are all competing against one another [to attract companies to locate there]. at really sparked my interest in economic development. Aer that I went to work in a larger market, Huntsville, Ala., at [NBC affiliate] WAFF-TV. 'People value a good business climate, and having a voice making the case for what businesses need here in Connecticut is still key.'