Never let it be said that even if successful there can’t be room for improvement and change. Your Chamber plans to change. I have not put this statement in the form of a question, but rather as a statement of fact. Your Chamber plans to change. To change is a positive process and your Chamber is a forward-thinking organization with the future of business in mind.
At the recent Board Retreat in May our directors saw the need to be a consistent agent of change. Much of that change is nothing brand new, but rather stretching out to do more and perhaps somewhat slightly different over what we are currently doing. The success of any organization is to look forward and not just dwell on past achievements.
Some questions we do ask ourselves are:
- Do the current fund-raising events still have meaning and are they producing the needed funds toward support of our programs?
- Is there something we have yet to think of that may be beneficial toward the future success of the Chamber and its support of the business community?
- Where do we stand with our client training?How good is our client communications?
- Do we need to take a fresh look at how to retain clients as well as realize their expectations?
These and many more questions are what currently on the mind of our directors and staff alike.
For the past four years we have had an increasingly strong Government Affairs Committee that has seen strong leadership under a series of Board vice-chairs, as well as individuals like Dan Sharp, past Government Affairs Director, Andy Anderson the Chair of the Business Issues Committee and current Chair of our Business & Community Political Action Committee Kevin English.
We need to develop that same level of leadership and commitment to other aspects of what we do.
As such we are streamlining our programs of direct client service under a renewed Education Committee. Great strides have been taken under Jan Maguire who leads our Leadership Program. She is working hard recruiting new students for the Third Annual Leadership Program, starting this coming October. This 10-month-long program of training has received great reviews from the graduates of the past two classes. The Education Committee will also be going through a rebuilding of our very popular GOTCHA Program. GOTCHA is directed toward our junior and senior high school students and rewards excellence in academics as well as citizenship. Other training activities for our clients and the business community need to be addressed with future needs in mind.
Client Services is yet another new committee that is attempting to do more concerning our retention and recruitment efforts.
In the near future you will begin to see improvements in the articles published on these pages of Comments. We are enlisting the assistance of other elements from within the community to address such topics as economic development, human resources, as well as what is taking place at both the California and U.S. Chambers of Commerce.
We need to constantly ask ourselves just what is our viability as a Business for Business? It does often appear we, as well as many others, tend to coast along when everything seems to be running smoothly. Now we are facing somewhat tougher times. Our economic future is not as bright as we may want it to be. Some of us are struggling to remain afloat either individually or as a business entity. Well, folks, as has been often said, “When the going gets tough the tough get going.”
Your Chamber is doing just that. We will get tougher. Each and every one of you should look for improved delivery of Chamber services. Now is not the time to fall apart, nor complain about situations we have little if any control over. Now is the time to do what we can concerning issues we do have at least a modicum of control over. In this regard your Vacaville Chamber will continue to be your voice to government and your 411 for business support.