Learning and Listening

Saturday, June 28
This past week, Laura Balentine, Membership and Business Retention, and myself attended the Intstitute for Organizational Management. This is the 4 year program for Chamber and Assocaition Professionals held on the beautiful campus of the University of Georgia in Athens. This program consists of intense week long classes focusing on topics such as financials, legal issues, ethics, memberships, etc. as it pertains to chamber and association management. Each of the four years has different core classes and electives designed to better educate your chamber employees so that after completion they earn the designation of IOM, which means they have complete the requirements and graduated from the Institute for Organizational Mangement. This is widely recognized in the chamber profession and most search committees looking to hire new chamber employees look for the IOM after the name. You may have noticed that both Maureen Lipscomb and myself have earned that designation, Maureen this past January and myself way back in 1997. Why was I there, you might ask? I had the honor of being asked to serve as an advisor for one of the classes. It is a totally awesome experience, as you get to network and meet new people, but also you get to gain some continuing education. You really enjoy giving some advice and helping to mold the new and upcoming chamber professionals. At the LINK, we consider it vitally important that everyone on staff have as many tools for success as we can possibly give them. It is part of what keeps us on the cutting edge of our professions. It is another outstanding night for the Sounds of Summer. Attendance continues to rise and everyone really seems to get into the family spirit of the evening and enjoy the music as well as visiting with friends and neighbors. The sight of the kids playing combined with the tempting smells of the many food varieties made for an evening meant for family and friends alike. We have had so many requests to continue this wildly popular event that we are going to continue on Thursdays through the month of July, with the exception of July 3rd. So, that means July 10, 17, 24 and rounding out on Thursday,July 31, we will have music, food beverages and fun at the Riverwalk from 7-9 pm. This is free and open to the public. We ask that you not bring coolers in, as the only way we are covering expenses is from the sale of beverages. We are not making money, only trying to provide a wonderful community service and not lose money. Also, remember to bring your lawn chairs and blankets. Be prepared to have a really good time!

Sounds of Summer June 19

Friday, June 20
Another spectacular evening filled with friends, food, drink and good music. Our 2nd night of Sounds of Summer was outstanding! When we started planning this event – who could have imagined that it would catch on so quickly and grow so much? We literally pulled this thing together in 2 weeks and last night there was between 900-1000 people there. Next Thursday night should be even bigger, if the trend continues. We still have a few glitches that we are working on, but those should be ironed out by next week. We are meeting today to decide if we want to continue into July. We have had numerous requests to continue, so I suspect that we probably will do so. It was a great family event and there were adults, children and even some furry friends that joined in the fun. Something to do on a Thursday night in downtown Columbus at the Riverwalk. Everyone is excited!

June 11, 2008

Wednesday, June 11
Tomorrow is going to be a banner day for the LINK. Tomorrow, we graduate our first class from Leadership Lowndes County(LLC). This group of leaders has been together for the past 10 months and has studied such issues as Healthcare, Local Government and Education as they pertain to Lowndes County. They have worked hard and deserve many congratulations. Good job guys! After graduation, we have our monthly Business After Hours (BAH). This is always a great event and is well attended. It’s a wonderful way to network and help you and your business grow. Immediately following BAH, we are kicking off a brand new program called “The Sounds of Summer”. This is a series of outdoor concerts at the Riverwalk. There will be food and beverages for purchase and everyone should bring a blanket to throw on the ground. It should be a great way to cap off the day. Running from one event to the next – it’s what chamber is all about!

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