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

You Never Know

Thursday, September 04
Ever notice that things seem to change in an instant and you just never know what the day will bring? Those people who work in jobs where it is the same thing everyday would have trouble keeping up with this organization. Just this week we installed a brand new state-of-the-art information kiosk in our office. We will use this in a variety of ways. Our ED will use it with prospects and clients and the Chamber side will use it with our members,visitors and newcomers. We are going to have a huge debut the beginning of October. We are also getting ready to kick off our second class of Leadership Lowndes County.next week. This is an intensive 9 month program where business leaders take one day each month and explore topics such as healthcare, education and economic development and how it pertains to Lowndes County. The first class graduated in June and really seemed to enjoy the class. One of their projects was the launch of our Link'd Young Professionals. They had an event on Tuesday evening and it was great! Each month they choose an organization and raise monies in support. This month it was the Humane Society. It is a wonderful opportunity for businesses to market to a different demographic. These are professionals beteen the ages of 21-40 most of them just getting started in their careers. We also have Business After Hours next Thursday from 5-7 p.m. at the Columbus Country Club. Also, nominations committees are about to begin the process of identifying potential new members for our Board of Directors. We are also looking at potential new membership database software. Beginning to work on 2009 budgets. It's something all the time and usually never the same thing twice. Yes, in the chamber world you have to be ready for whatever the day throws at you.

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