2012-2013 Chamber Executive Letter to Membership - Feb. 17, 2012

Members of the St. Stephen Area Chamber of Commerce

We are your Executive Committee for 2012/13.
From recent experience, each of us has concluded that changes are necessary to the way the Chamber understands and meets the needs of the Members. We are committed to make these changes.
Some of the required changes relate to the way the Chamber operates. For example, the St. Stephen Area Chamber of Commerce did not have explicit responsibilities for each member of the Executive Team. This was corrected yesterday. At our first Executive Committee meeting we approved specific responsibilities for each member of the executive. We have also drafted more clearly defined responsibilities for the Executive Assistant and assigned responsibility for day to day supervision of this position to the Chamber Secretary. Another change was to increase the representation from local small business owners on the Executive; the team now includes three small business owners.
Changes are also required in how or what the Chamber does to understand and meet Member needs. For example the Dinner Committee and the Membership Committee are being asked to examine the value of the luncheon speaker program. One proposal being considered is to replace some of the luncheon speakers program with a “Chamber Business Night” program. In this proposal, a local business could host an evening where chamber members would get a tour of the business and learn about the products or services on offer. At the end of the session, the hosts would be asked to identify two or three of the biggest challenges they face. In that way, the Chamber Members who attend will learn more about what is available locally (some free advertising for the host) and hear about important issues faced by that particular business. Someone in the group may have faced similar challenge and be able to offer help.
On Monday you will receive an e-mail with a link to our membership survey (on the SurveyMonkey website) seeking input about your concerns and views. Please take a minute to provide us with your feedback. We look forward to them.
Thank you,

Terri Jordan 1st Vice President
Brian Hastey 2nd Vice President
Kris Amos Treasurer
Geoff Knight Secretary
Jason Rideout Past President
Dale F. Weeks President