How Did We Do?

Dear Friend, December: A Time to Adjust For the next couple of weeks, your Chamber will take time to ponder on the past year. It is a time for us to enter into the process of refining what the Chamber brings to you and your business or organization. A time to adjust and build.   What Next?  With the coming of the new year we can expect three things to be true. Boomers are transitioning control to Gen X'ers, technologies continue to emerge at lightening speeds and the economy will be what it will be. If we stand still, any one (or all three) of these truths will over take us and render us irrelevant. We must adjust and strengthen our offering so that we can continue to serve you and make a difference for your success.   No One Goes it Alone Your Board of Trustees, along with your Chamber staff, have been working on your behalf and have each contributed thoughtful direction and wisdom into our draft strategic plan for 2015. Business people and keepers of important agencies themselves, your Board understands the issues we all face - they face them too.  How Can You Help? This is your Chamber, we come to work everyday with only one purpose, to help you be more successful. We ask for your input to make sure we continue to deliver what is important to you. Please take this survey (of course it's short!) and let us know how we did this past year and how we can best shape our offering in 2015. Even if you don't belong to our Chamber or any Chamber, we'd still like to hear from you as well. Take The Survey   December is Also Membership Month We will be refining our membership value statements and asking for your support again in 2015. We are looking closely at how we package our membership benefits and at our pricing model. If you would like to meet with me to discuss how the Chamber is positioning itself for the upcoming year, please call or email me. I would love the opportunity to learn more about your business and how we can be even a small part of your growth in the coming year.   Final Reminder: Legislative Preview This Thursday, December 4th, we will be hosting 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. That's right, you get to talk. 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? Benjamin Franklin once said: "When you're finished changing, you're finished."And, knowing ole Benjamin as I do, I'm pretty sure he said it more than once.

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

Dave Southwick

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

Collaboration

Dear Friend, All Roads Lead to the Summit Over the past two days I have had the opportunity, neigh, the privilege of participating in two very important gatherings on behalf of Franklin County. On Monday, I was in Plattsburgh, NY at the 2014 International Summit of the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership. Tuesday, I went to Burlington, VT to sit in on InnoVaTe 2014, the second annual Economic Development Summit sponsored by the Vermont Department of Economic Development. I left both Summits with a single charge - Collaboration.

CVNHP The Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership is a division of the Lake Champlain Basin Program. In a nutshell, the mission is to conserve our land and preserve our heritage as it relates to Lake Champlain. The FCRCC has been selected as a Regional Stakeholders Group (RSG) coordinator. Our task is to gather people, groups, and opinions that best represent the ideals of Franklin County. A couple times a year, the Franklin County RSG meets to share ideas for conservation and heritage promotion in Franklin County. These ideas are consolidated with other RSGs and presented to the Steering Committee for funding consideration.    2014 was our first year as a RSG and our turnout was sparse but vocal. Several of our ideas are under consideration for grant opportunities in the near future. We can do better. This is our chance to collaborate with RSGs from the rest of Vermont, New York and Quebec and to impact the types of grant opportunities that come back to our area to help us fund the programs we believe will make a difference.   If you are not currently on the CVNHP mailing list and want to be part of the Franklin County Regional Stakeholder Group sign up today.  SIGN UP HERE   Economic Development InnoVaTe 2014 was a celebration of the economic development success in the state of Vermont. And while I will not bore you with the details, I will point out that innovation, collaboration and a positive environment were the clear topics of the day. The majority of the presentations were from young, innovative entrepreneurs who have bravely chosen Vermont as home to their business endeavors. Why? Quality of life? Yes. Social and Environmental Responsibility? Yes. But most importantly, a support system of collaborators and partners willing to take chances on new growth ideas. We must continually look for ways to support the budding ideas in Franklin County.    I have a few growing thoughts on how we can make more of this happen. Keep your eyes open for upcoming forums where we can build on what we already have. But don't wait, if you have an idea today, let's talk.      Did You Know? Local Chambers of Commerce lobbied long and hard to have the new Transcontinental Railroad come through their towns. Their insight into the future of rail travel and commerce helped to transform small villages into thriving business centers.

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

Dave Southwick

Four Things to Click On

Dear Friend, Get Your Finger Ready On the average, I attend about 12-15 meetings a month. I go as the representative and voice of the members of the Chamber of Commerce. These meetings concern zoning issues, Brownsfield clean-ups, community actions, legislative discussions, business development, water quality, healthy citizen strategies and scarecrow contests. We discuss branding ideas, rest areas, mentoring, fountain restorations, vandalism, walking routes and Civil War re-enactments. We chat about Enosburg, Swanton, Richford, Georgia, Fairfax, Fairfield, Berkshire, Bakersfield, Franklin, Montgomery, Sheldon, Fletcher, Highgate and Clemson.   I go willingly, it's what I do, it's my job.

This is What I've Heard (lately) 1. The physical and mental health of your employees is good for your business or organization. Studies show the clear health and economic benefits of a worksite wellness program: decreased absenteeism and employee turnover, lower health care costs, and savings on downtime and temporary help needed due to illness.   But in order for these people to serve you best, you have to take a few minutes to complete their Worksite Wellness Survey. Click #1   2. People have funding available to train your employees. They want to use these moneys in Franklin County.    But in order for these people to address the training and education needs of your incumbent and potential employees, they need you to tell them what you need. Click #2   3. I have just met with a new resource to our area. He is a consultant with Google Business Pages and is in our town to help you promote your business through the most widely visited mapping system in the world.    But in order for you to take advantage of this opportunity, you have to take time to work on your business - next Thursday, Oct 30, 3:30 - 5:00, and, oh yes, you have to sign up. Click #3   Help Reach Others The success of the Chamber is based on memberships, we are a volunteer, not-for-profit organization. Share your experiences with others, let them know how the Chamber has helped your business or organization. Share a story with them and encourage them to meet with us today. We are here to help.   Final Click If you received this email from a friend, join our Chamber Chat List today. Click #4   Did You Know? In 1923, a real estate development company called Hollywood Land erected a giant sign on a nearby cliff to promote their fine properties. The land deal was a bust and the sign fell into disrepair - the letters LAND having fallen off. The neighbors wanted to tear down the eyesore but the local Chamber of Commerce stepped in, refurbished the sign to help promote the local economy creating the most recognized (and most visited) town sign in history.

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

Dave Southwick

Community Value

Dear Friend, Chamber of Commerce - Community Value The senatorial and representative candidates come to the Bliss Room in the St. Albans Historical Society & Museum this Thursday, October 9 at 5:00 pm to meet with you and answer your questions. This is your opportunity to hear how the candidates respond to your concerns before we go to the polls in one month.

You Will be Heard More than 25 different individuals and organizations have submitted questions for our senatorial candidates. While we won't have time for every question, each candidate will receive a copy of every question as part of their lovely parting gifts for participating in this forum. Both senatorial and representative candidates alike will take home your concerns and will have time to reflect on them as they prepare their final speeches and campaign stops. In addition, those who are fortunate to be elected will have those same questions in their hands as they head off to Montpelier. You will be heard.    Limited Seating We will be limited in the number of guests we can accommodate for the forum so please come early. We will also want to get the "meet and greet" portion of the program started right at 5:00 pm to allow the most time possible for personal interaction.   Table Topics The final portion of the evening will see our senatorial candidate rotating between smaller groups at five different table clusters. Each cluster will have a table host who will monitor questions. In an effort to add some shape to the discussions, table clusters will be formed around political topics. As you are called to move from the general forum to the small groups, select a table cluster under a topic that best matches your concerns. While the table cluster is not bound to that topic only, it will add some variety to the types of questions presented to the candidates. Topics will probably include: Education, Water Quality, Economic Development, Healthcare, and Government. Transportation will be squeezed in there as well.   Questions  You can still have a little time to contribute your questions for the candidates at Ask a Question. If you have questions about the evening, please feel free to contact the Chamber office. See you Thursday.   Did You Know? The St. Louis Chamber of Commerce saw a great opportunity when it funded young Charles Lindbergh and "The Spirit of St. Louis" enabling it to beat a Brooklyn Chamber backed plane to be the first to complete a transatlantic flight. This single, timely event put St. Louis on the map and gave it a much needed boost in the launch of a very lucrative aviation industry. Ever hear of the "Auspices of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce?" I didn't think so.

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

Dave Southwick