Giving Thanks

Dear Friends, Thanksgiving is My Favorite Holiday Food, family, friends, food, football and food - those are a few of my favorite things and they all take place on the same day. No wonder I feel so full and satisfied at the end of Thanksgiving Day. Full? Yes.  When I reflect on the past year in the Chamber, I find that I am also fulfilled in many ways. In a year when change was all around, I am thankful for a Board of Trustees that helped direct course corrections. I am thankful for so many members who have held the faith and continued to trust that the Chamber does make a difference in their business or organization. And, I am thankful for a dedicated staff that comes to work everyday thinking about how they can best serve you. Satisfied? Not Yet. We have made great strides in 2014, yet we still have a lot of work to do in 2015. This new year represents a major change in the way businesses and organizations will relate to membership groups. Choices will have to be made, values will have to be examined and return on investment will be reviewed. The Chamber is prepared to face the shift to a new way of doing business. And as the old saying goes; "We won't be satisfied, until you are satisfied." Whats Next? When you get back from your Thanksgiving celebration, I will meet you on the other side with a short survey to find out how best we can meet your needs. We will take those results (combined with input from our Board), fine tune our programming, evaluate our pricing and packaging, and launch our 2015 membership drive. If I might borrow from our friends at Smugglers' Notch for a minute: "We Want You Back."   Reminder: Legislative Preview On December 4th, we will host a Legislative Preview. This is an opportunity for you to voice what you feel would be in the best interest of your business or organization.  Thursday, December 4th, 7:30 to 9:00 AM in the Green Mountain Room, La Quinta Inn & Suites, St. Albans. Refreshments and light breakfast provided. No fees but please register in advance: REGISTER HERE

Did You Know? Women began to join the Chamber ranks around 1900, far sooner than most other organizations gave them recognition.

Thank you for your continued support of the Chamber in your community.

Dave Southwick

Legislative Preview and More...

Dear Friend, Election Results are In Your votes have been counted, our delegates have been elected (with at least one recount in process) - now it's time to get to work. What Next? During the debate season, you had a chance to see how candidates would respond to your concerns. You took that information and made an informed decision on election day. Now that the 2015-16 delegation has been seated, we have another opportunity to speak our concerns before they head to Montpelier. Legislative Preview On December 4th, several community partners will be collaborating to host a Legislative Preview. This is an opportunity for you to voice what you feel would be in the best interest of your business or organization. In addition, we will hear from two business-centric lobbying groups as they present their legislative agendas to our delegation. I have heard it said in the past that by the time our concerns are heard, it is often too late. Well here is a chance get to them BEFORE they even leave for capital hill.  So, prepare to present your concerns. In fact you can start practicing in the mirror: "It would be a great help to me and my business/organization if our delegation would focus on <insert concern>." Let's keep it positive and give our delegates clear direction as they march on. What Are We Doing? Last week, I attended the Vermont Chamber Executives retreat. We talked about what was important to our constituents and heard our lobbyists make their pitches. We agreed that we might not all see eye to eye on everything but that in general we were for legislation that addressed taxes, looked at cost savings, reduced the burden of the permitting process, took a careful look at our healthcare reform, and continued to build a comprehensive statewide economic development strategy. I noticed that water quality was not on this list so I took the initiative to send out an email to by counterparts in the rest of the state and asked that they support our concern for our lakes and waterways. I am happy to announce that several have responded positively that they would indeed support our position. So, I suggest that if you belong to an organization, let them know how you feel about the issues. Let they know that you understand that they may or may not agree but if they don't have an opinion - take yours! Details Thursday, December 4th, 7:30 to 9:00 AM in the Green Mountain Room, La Quinta Inn & Suites, St. Albans. Refreshments and light breakfast provided. No fees but please register in advance: REGISTER HERE

Did You Know? The San Jose Chamber was instrumental in attracting funding, incubation space, talent and business to form what we know as The Silicon Valley.

Thank you for your continued support of the Chamber in your community.

Dave Southwick

Vote

Dear Friend, Your November 4th Agenda Get Up   VOTE   Do Other Stuff (optional)   Go To Bed

Did You Know? Voting is our right. It is our responsibility. Respect the Right To Vote.

Thank you for your continued support of the Chamber in your community.

Dave Southwick