Springfield's Best offers members chances to grow

Despite membership levels at half of the organization’s all-time high, the group has posted solid gains in the past two years, under the direction of Executive Director George Freeman.

Since its inception in 1994, membership levels have fluctuated, at one point reaching 120 members.

When Freeman joined the organization in April 2003, there were 43 members; the organization now has 59 members.

The mission of Springfield’s Best, according to its Web site, is “to continually maintain a membership of quality, reputable, locally owned companies and to provide resources and support to increase the recognition of the members and their volume of quality business.”

To that end, Springfield’s Best has a code of conduct for its members, which addresses several issues including nondiscrimination, honesty and maintaining a good reputation and image.

Freeman said membership is limited to locally owned businesses, with certain franchises not eligible. He said that whether a franchise is eligible for membership depends on how much marketing control is available at the local level. For example, he said, Two Men and a Truck is eligible for membership, while Wendy’s is not.

“We’ve got businesses that are employee owned, and we have $40 million-a-year owners and we have businesses with one employee,” Freeman said.

Member businesses must have been in operation for two years, and prior experience is taken into consideration by the board of directors.

Memberships are somewhat limited by industry.

“We are category-exclusive, but there is some wiggle room that tends to occur in a couple of categories,” he said. “For example, restaurants are classified by types of cuisine.”

Cost of membership depends on what the member company selects. For $100 a month, a business gets a basic membership and can participate in networking opportunities. For $250, the member business has access to either print or television advertising options and can take advantage of networking. Businesses that pay $400 a month can network and participate in both print and television advertising. The advertising is optional, and is offered on a quarterly basis.

“If you’re like City Utilities or Corporate Business Systems, they don’t participate in the advertising part because they already do heavy advertising on their own,” Freeman said.

The three-tier membership option is one of the newer things the board has implemented since Freeman began serving as executive director.

“When I came on board, it was basically $250 a month and you signed on for a year,” Freeman said. “We studied that and decided it wasn’t fair to the membership. If your business is seasonal, it may not make sense to advertise all year.”

Now businesses can be members and never advertise, just taking part in the organization’s networking opportunities, which include a monthly mixer and weekly meetings that alternate between breakfast and lunch activities.

And it’s the networking that really drives the organization, Freeman said.

“Our heart and soul is about referrals and networking with one another,” Freeman said.

It seems to be paying off.

“I’ve had people say they’ve chosen me because we’re a member of Springfield’s Best,” said Jay Johnson of Super Vac Inc. Super Vac has been a member of Springfield’s Best for a year. Johnson opted for the print advertising membership level.

“I can’t tell that I’ve seen a measurable difference because of the print ad,” he said. “But we’re pleased with the association of Springfield’s Best and people involved.”

J. Howard Fisk, president of J. Howard Fisk Limousines, has been a member of Springfield’s Best for six months. Fisk participates in the networking but not the advertising opportunities.

“I wanted to find out if there is a benefit to doing it, what people are thinking and how they are operating in the community. We have a lot of longtime customers,” Fisk said. “At the same time, (the) Springfield’s Best group looks for customers in a different way than we have in the past. We are introducing ourselves to a whole new generation of business owners in the community.”

Fisk also joined so that he could find out how J. Howard Fisk Limousines is perceived in the community and what the company’s strengths and weaknesses are. Springfield’s Best members Richard Ollis of Ollis & Co. and Rick Hughlett of Rick’s Automotive encouraged Fisk to become part of the group.

“I felt it might be beneficial to get to know other businesses in the community. After 28 years in business you think you know everyone, but there are a lot of new businesses in the community,” Fisk said. “My experience so far has been excellent. I’ve enjoyed the people I’ve gotten to meet.”

In addition to the new membership structure, another recent change affects Springfield’s Best’s membership area. It now includes Christian, Webster and Polk counties.

“We were defined by a 50-mile radius of Springfield. We changed the bylaws this past year,” Freeman said.

While the group focuses on providing opportunities for its members, Springfield’s Best also gives back to the community through its Springfield’s Best Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization.

“Between Christmas and New Year’s we raised $7,000 from our members to help fund the Convoy of Hope’s mission to Sri Lanka,” Freeman said. “We’ve built a Habitat for Humanity home. We donated more than $4,000 to Reading Round Up. We’ve done a variety of things, but always things which have something to do with what we believe and how we try to represent ourselves.”