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