In earning the Chamber of the Year award Aug. 2 at the American Chamber of Commerce Executives’ annual national convention in Louisville, Ky., the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce beat out finalists from St. Joseph County in Indiana and the Hilton Head-Bluffton area in South Carolina. Springfield chamber President Jim Anderson cited efforts by volunteers and staff as reasons the local group received the award from the association that represents more than 7,000 chamber professionals and 1,200 chambers in the U.S. and Canada. Springfield was recognized in the largest category, chambers with revenues of at least $2 million.
Top Shelf “Our city has been put on the map in a lot of ways, and this is one more. I think it affirms that what we’re doing as a business advocacy and economic development organization is blue ribbon. It’s top shelf. It’s a Good Housekeeping seal of approval, so there is a strong affirmation there that what we are doing is on target. I would also tell you that success breeds complacency. We’ve had a lot of success, and this is another example of success, but I promise you our volunteer leadership and staff team doesn’t get complacent. The day after the award ceremony, we were charging as hard then as we were the day before.”
Peer Review “The final stage of the process was an interview with four judges at the national convention in Louisville. Michelle West and I were part of the group who was grilled on our application. It was really a three-step process. First, there was an operational survey that chambers fill out. It (comprises) very objective data: financial performance, membership development, some program review, et cetera. From there, (chambers were narrowed) into what I’d call semifinalists (and) three finalists were determined to be interviewed by a judging panel as the convention started. The finalists and the Chamber of the Year were recognized at the banquet. It is a fairly involved process with both objective and subjective evaluation. And it is relatively new. (The award) has only been given the last four or five years.”
Culturally Attractive “We’ve had good years in membership development and good years in financial performance. Frankly, our programming areas that we highlighted (such as) the advocacy efforts we’re doing and some of our diversity initiatives, I think, caught the eye of the judges. The interview itself was more about the culture of the organization. I think some of the things we do in terms of team building probably made the difference. … We had a record number of volunteers – almost 400 involved – and brought in a record number of new members, 420. … The annual budget for the chamber and subsidies is $3.1 million. We (ended last) year with $35,000. Our reserves are in the $400,000 range.”
Diverse Programming “Our peer group is [140] metropolitan chambers in the U.S. and Canada. … It wasn’t chambers such as Ozark and Nixa, it was metropolitan chambers across North America. Many of those have minority business development programs or procurement programs, something like that, but there are very few chambers that do what we do with the Facing Racism Institute. We stole that idea from Grand Rapids, Mich. In fact, the folks from Grand Rapids helped us put our program together. We are the only two in the country that I’m aware of that do this kind of program. It’s pretty gutsy. … A lot of chambers may be involved in minority business development, but very few are tackling that issue head on. … The Market Street report, the competitive analysis that we did in 2009, talked about an economic stumbling block going forward is our community’s lack of diversity.”
Today’s Chamber Challenges “We continue to sell the investment opportunities in our community. Available buildings work for some people, and for some people they don’t. There has been activity in terms of people looking at (the Solo Cup plant and Heer’s Tower), and hopefully, as this economy improves, something material will happen. … I think the second-tier cities – and, I think that’s what we are in that category – are where the action is. (Those) communities aren’t as fragmented as a major metropolitan area might be. Springfield is a great chamber town; it has a great business climate. … I think we are large enough to have amenities of a major metropolitan area, but I think we still have that flavor and charm of a small town. And I think that’s what will keep us growing in the future is maintaining that balance.”[[In-content Ad]]
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