Help Us Transform the Chamber to Meet Your Business Needs
End of the Year Message from Our President
Goodbye, 2018! 2019, here we come!
As we near the end of the year, it’s tempting to allow the endless array of festive gatherings to take priority over the year-end tasks we must undertake in order to best prepare for the future. It’s important that I take the time to thank you, our valued members. for your continued support.
Our mission is to enhance the economic well-being of each member’s business and the well-being of the entire business community. We’re not just a chamber of commerce, we’re a chamber of connections. We’re here to build relationships and create competitive advantages for a healthy business environment.
We’ve spent time reviewing event and meeting attendance. In the past few years, our community has experienced an influx of new events that didn’t exist before. We’re also more connected via social media, which affects how people choose to network. This is a wonderful thing—our region is vibrant, people are connecting, and more local businesses are thriving.
In our 102 years, we’ve been considered the “go-to” entity producing these events and meetings. Our 2018 calendar had 112 events and numerous internal committee meetings. This is great, but as other community events compete for your limited time, it’s not sustainable.
We’re prepared to begin the next phase of our transformation. We’ll ramp up our advocacy role. We’ll reinvigorate our Ambassador Committee. We’ll reinstate our Young Professionals Organization and we’ll dedicate more time to partnering with others to support important workforce initiatives. We’ll focus on several key areas that our members have told us are important: business connections, leadership development, influence, advocacy, and workforce development.
Our Board of Directors is working on a new strategic plan that will guide this work. I’d like to invite you to be part of this process. Please contact me with ideas about how we can best serve you and your business goals. This is your chamber and we want to offer programs and events that you value. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes for a successful new year.
Jack Lank
Work, reflect, plan, prepare, execute.