WHY SHOULD I JOIN NOW?

Tuesday, November 04
The LINK (chamber of commerce) is unique. It is a partner to every business and every citizen. You belong in it as long as you are in business in our community for you are benefiting from its activities, and should shoulder a part of the operating expenses. What investment is more important to you as a business or professional person and citizen than such a comparatively small one in our progress and prosperity. You may not have time to answer hundreds of requests for information or help bring an industry into the area, but you know it is being done. If you are unable to support with both time and money, it is especially important for you to financially cooperate with your fellow businessmen who make up various committees and who ARE taking time out from their business to help YOU. Your greatest asset is your location in a prosperous growing community, where new people are constantly moving in, and the economic level is high. That is the objective of any Chamber of Commerce. Your income is derived from activity within our area and you benefit by the activities of the Chamber. If you are a branch office that proves that your company considers this a good place to do business. This is your home, and you, as a branch, benefit from LINK activity. Possibly you have replaced an independent business that did support the LINK, which is all the more reason you should contact your home office and secure its membership. Your first job should be to make yourself part of the community and the way to do this is by identifying yourself with the leading community organization. Perhaps you do your business outside of our area, but don't you make full use of our facilities? You wouldn't call an out-of-town police or fire department, or make use of out-of-town utilities. And aren't your family, and friends, and interests here? You are a part of the community after all, and the LINK needs your support in its efforts to make it a still better community. We are not asking you to give away money, but TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT. Your return is the continued growth and prosperity of our area. The membership dues (which are tax deductible under business expense) amounts to only pennies a day - such a small amount that you can't afford not to belong. The best way to get your business larger is to properly support the LINK … more industries ... more residents ... more tourists ... more people shopping in our community ... will mean more business for you. The LINK is working to promote all of these things (in addition it affords valuable contacts with your fellow citizens and business people). Make your investment NOW. No town - or business - ever stands still; you either proceed or recede. Other cities are active NOW - competing for trade territory, industries, new businesses, better highways, more housing, police protection, education, and everything else that will make them a better, more prosperous and more pleasant place in which to live. Don't put it off … “later” may be too late.

Give Something Back

Friday, October 17
Over the past sixteen years that I have been in Chamber management I have had the opportunity to observe a great many different types of business operations. From my position at the Chamber I have witnessed the success of many businesses and the failure of others. As I look back on the observations there is one basic ingredient that made the difference between succeeding and failing. David Glass, the President and CEO of Wal-Mart recently defined the ingredient, in an article he wrote for Source, the official Sam’s Club magazine. Mr. Glass recently resigned as President of Wal-Mart to become chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. The advice Mr. Glass gave to his store managers is good advice for every manager of any type of business. What Mr. Glass said is this… “Business needs to be a partnership. If you’re going to expect the community to support you and your store, then you need to become am integral part of the community, giving some of that back.” One of the reasons that Wal-Mart has done so well in our area is based on their philosophy of giving back to the community. This same philosophy is used by many of our other successful Chamber members who have learned, and learned quite well, that you get back from the community in direct proportion to what you put in. I have seen it time and time again. A new business opens in the community and one of the first things they do is join the Chamber. However, once they join and their name is in our membership directory, you never see them again. The managers or owners don’t participate in any Chamber activities, they don’t join a committee, they don’t provide door prizes for Chamber events and they don’t receive any recognition or advertising for their contributions. Usually when this business receives their membership dues invoice for the renewal of their Chamber membership they politely decline to rejoin stating that they never get anything out of their membership. In many cases those businesses which take this position are the ones that will soon have an empty storefront. The really successful business people, on the other hand, get involved with the Chamber in a great many ways. They attend Chamber functions to become known, they donate door prizes for the recognition and advertising, and they join our committees. By getting actively involved, other members get to know them and, as we all know, we like doing business with people we know.

Onward.

Wednesday, October 08
With varying degrees of success, I have attempted to make a one-word slogan the driving force in my professional life and - I like to think - in the life of this organization. The last ten days, I admit to more than a few moments of self-doubt and anxiety. How could anyone not have such feelings in the face of nearly unimaginable changes in the economic life of the nation and the world? Wouldn't it be nice if you and I had the luxury of succumbing to despair? Wouldn't a full-blown abdication and escape to a bar, a beach, or the fetal position feel good about now? Well, that's not an option. Never before has my one-word mantra been more relevant for me personally and, I suspect for some of you. Of course we will need to adapt and avoid going blindly forward as if changes aren't going to affect us. But we must continue the critical work, carry the messages of hope, and fight for the principles and goals we know to be right with whatever resources we have available. It's what we do. Think of it this way: Everything you have ever learned . . . every skill you've developed, every network you've nurtured and every experience you've stored in your personal and organizational arsenals must now be put to use in the most important challenge of our time. The chamber of commerce movement (regardless of what monikers we attach to our entities) has obligation to push, pull, steer and drive the economic recovery of this country. Others will weigh in too, of course, but can they succeed without your regional and street-level leadership? Impossible. You'll need help in this struggle from the broad and deep network of peers and staff who compose the LINK family. Call us. Call me. We'll be here. Unless you have another direction you can recommend, I would suggest that we continue . . . Onward. Melissa Cook, VP Chamber Division 662-328-8369

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