Our mission
We strengthen Catholic businesses by helping owners form real working relationships. The goal is a visible Catholic economy where faith can be lived openly in the marketplace.
Faith belongs in every part of life.
The Catholic Chamber brings owners together so they can build strong businesses without separating their work from their Catholic identity.
Why the Chamber exists
Business shapes daily life in Fort Wayne. Catholic owners should not have to build alone, and Catholic consumers should be able to find businesses whose owners share their faith.
How we began
Founded in 2026, the Chamber is a nonprofit trade association led by local volunteers. Its work carries the blessing of the Vicar General of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
The people building the Chamber
These owners and local leaders are helping establish the Catholic Chamber in Fort Wayne.
Joe Kimes
Queen of Angels
Advocate Financial
President of the Catholic Chamber
Read Joe’s storyDarren Zink
St. Vincent
Fill-Rite
Mike Karst
St. Vincent
Sustainable Oils, Inc.
Aaron Kennerk
St. Jude
Chesterton Academy
Matt Kawiecki
Saint Charles
Holstead
Read Matt’s storyJohn Zarse
St. Vincent
Specialized Printed Products
Joe Kimes
Queen of Angels · Advocate Financial · President of the Catholic Chamber
Growing up in Fort Wayne, Joe was surrounded by Catholic gentlemen, including his father and his father’s associates, who showed him that practicing the faith does not stop at the door of a business.
“Practicing our faith does not stop when we walk through the doors of our business.”
He watched these men patronize one another’s businesses and refer customers to each other. They created opportunities for Catholic families and treated their work as an extension of who they were. They did not call it a Catholic economy. They simply understood that a strong Catholic community required people to support one another.
Joe later spent a decade living and working in the Middle East as a Christian. There he saw Christian parishes and towns endure extraordinary pressure because families built strong communities around their faith. Their children had mentors and work opportunities. They had reasons to build a future close to home.
That experience helped Joe recognize losses happening in schools and parishes back home. The Catholic Chamber is his practical response: rebuild local relationships so Catholic families and businesses have a stronger future in Fort Wayne.
Matt Kawiecki
Saint Charles · Holstead
Matt started his Fort Wayne business after a choking scare with his young child. What began as a safer kitchen tool grew into a way to help families and people with limited grip.
When national attention brought growth and criticism, Matt discovered how lonely business ownership could become. His family stood beside him, but he had no nearby Catholic mentor who had faced the same kind of pressure.
“I had built this whole company, and yet I had virtually no local support network of faith-based business people around me.”
Matt joined the Chamber because Catholic owners should know people nearby who understand the responsibility of building a company without leaving faith behind.
A sign of welcome
Early Christians used the ichthys as a sign of shared belief and hospitality. It helped them recognize a place where they would be received. The Chamber hopes to make Catholic business owners easier to recognize and support in our own community.