From my frequent conversations with your friends and peers since Labor Day, it has seemed that most of you have been hard at work for months to ensure 2012 success.  Whether through the ‘creative writing’ of modern budgeting, or through thoughtful (ruthless!) chamber program evaluation, I think all of you are well into the New Year already.

We’ve got a lot of work to do in 2012.  The economy may or may not continue to recover.  The election may or may not produce dramatic policy changes.  Greece and the Euro may hinder your work, or not.  The weather?  New energy discoveries?  Rival organizations?  Consumer attitudes?  Helpful(?) mayors and editors?  Seismic disturbances?  Supreme Court decisions?  Whatever comes at you or your members, you’ll deal with it.  Chambers always have and always will.

I am enormously grateful that you will be there for ACCE, your members and the regions of North America in the important year to come.  And, I hope you’ll call on us for help when you need ideas, connections and opportunities.  Onward in 2012!

Mick

Reunion with Cornell University championship football team was a blast this past weekend.  The stories of our prowess grow more amazing each decade.  Fantastic connections to be made with old friends.  An energy engineer in Alaska, Ivy League academics, a Madison Ave. ad agency CEO, politicos in DC,  business leaders from Chicago, two judges, a machinist, a truck company owner, a truck driver, an oncologist, two surgeons, a dentist, a coach or two, a juvenile crime specialist and the radio announcer of the Colorado Rockies.  Oh, and one fairly well-known Hollywood star who sports a Super Bowl ring.

When I attempted to answer the "what's your line?" questions of my old teammates, there were, as usual, tilted heads and quizzical looks.  They pretend to understand what the president of an association of chamber people might actually do. All of those smart, wired, experienced people find it easier to understand what a mortgage-backed securities analyst (yes, we have two of those in the group) might do than what an association executive does.  Finally, I found an analogy they could relate to.  Since so many are lawyers, I just started answering the cocktail party questions -- "ACCE is like the American Bar Association for chamber of commerce people."  "Ohhhhh, that sounds . . . interesting. Have you tried the shrimp?"

I'm the mushy sentimental type. Big surprise, right!? I fire up and tear up when the news covers a soldier's homecoming or the long-suffering Lions fans get a win. This week, I received a simple message that touched me deeply and provided the motivation I need in order to do this job. It was a handwritten note from Rob O'Brien, the CEO of the Joplin Missouri Chamber. It accompanied his substantial ACCE dues check and it was a reply to the note I wrote him on his membership invoice. In light of the unfathomable tornado damage that struck his town, I had written, "Rob, do what you can. If you need to send nothing this year, don't sweat it." Or something like that. His note back said: "Thanks for the offer to accept less for dues, but we are good right now . . . enclosed is our full amount. Keep doing great things. Rob."

Rob will have a tough time fully rebuilding the economy of Joplin, but he and his team are already hard at it, with efforts to restore the hospital (focus of every network camera in May), the schools and the business base. Their "YES WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS" roster of establishments that have reopened, along with those that never closed, grows every week. The transition from response to recovery is getting assistance from many corners. And yes, they are open for business.

Recently, in response to what the pundits, pols and pottymouths of both parties have been spewing, Jon Stewart on the Daily Show said, "We need some perspective -- these are hard times, not end times." When I see the kind of determination and faith displayed by Rob and his team in Joplin, even in the face of destruction that resembles the stuff of biblical end times, I am amazed and inspired. When the going gets tough, the tough keep you going.

P.S.  If you want to help, go to: www.joplincc.com

At a meeting with the World Chambers Federation board of directors this weekend, I learned that all of the dozens of chambers in the Netherlands are being forced to merge into one.  The number of chambers in France is being cut by a third.  These are countries in which membership in compulsory by law.   In Spain, the government recently ruled that the chambers would no longer receive the money companies had been paying for the last couple of hundred years for chamber membership.  The State would keep (thank you very much) the "tax", leaving the chambers with about 40% of their revenue, provided they can keep program income flowing in.

I recall a number of folks telling me over the years that running a public-law chamber would be so easy because they wouldn't have to work on membership retention.  I'm wondering, however, if perhaps a chamber operating where the government requires membership really only has one member?

From left, José Paulo D. Cairoli, President of CACB (Confederation of Commercial and Business Associations of Brazil); Sergio Papini, V.P., CACB, Kwanele Gumbi, V.P., Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry; ACCE President Mick Fleming; Julio Alfaro, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of East Timor.

Dealing with the formalities of international business has been a challenge for a guy born without diplomatic genes. My Buffalo, N.Y., roots make it tough to tolerate
for-the-record speeches, endlessly translated through earphones. Such programs are inevitable, however, in my role as vice chair of the World Chambers Federation (WCF).

My recent trip to Brazil included the dreaded for-the-record speeches in Portuguese, but there were some touching moments,such as the little ceremony shown in this picture. Following my participation in Salvador, Brazil on a panel of experts from around the world, one of my fellow presenters was overwhelmed with gratitude to have been included. Mr. Julio Alfaro of the new country of East Timor showered each of us with gifts and “hooded” us with lovely ceremonial shawls. The big old American bear on the stage felt a bit awkward, but Julio’s appreciation was so genuine and his words were so poignant, how could I not be moved?

When Julio said “It is nice to be here; it is nice to be anywhere,” he was not joking. You see, this soft-spoken, charismatic guy is running a chamber that is recovering from a decade-long revolution. Former teen (and pre-teen) conscripts in guerilla armies are now learning trades and business skills from his organization. Generations of government corruption are being overcome  through his advocacy work. And we think chamber management is tough in the US!

I sometimes tell ACCE Board members that the WCF experience is MY professional development. Thanks to all of you for letting me take this “class.”

From one LA to the other, by way of Salvador Brazil.  And the month is only half over.  Whether engaged in productive networking on the dance floor during the AWB show in Los Angeles, or introducing American style chamberology to Brazilians, or helping Louisiana execs maintain their passion for this crazy life . . . It is hard not to love this job. 

I know you do too, even when you hate it.  Yes, there are times when the call from the mayor's office stimulates your fight-or-flight hormones.  Other days, a big member makes you drop by to explain why she should be paying more than her peers in town.  Or maybe your chair scolds you for allowing your best team member is hired away on the same day your  treasurer tells you the measly perqs you give your staff are too generous.  Perhaps you too must deal with delayed flights and airport pretzel dinners.  If you didn't love the role you play in your community/economy, none of these things would bother you a bit.

When my knees are crushed by the reclining seat in the row ahead, I just remind myself that the reward of my travel is not frequent flyer points.  The reward is having the best hard job in the world.

Onward.

During the World Chambers Federation’s big congress in Mexico City earlier this month, I couldn’t help making comparisons with our own convention. Over drinks in the hotel bar the final night of the Congress, I received some help in my comparative evaluation from a handful of foreign chamber leaders who have attended both events.  My own prejudices about the value and power of ACCE’s gig were reinforced by this discerning gang of world travelers.

“I learn a lot more from ACCE,” said one big shot from another country. He added, “the program is much stronger.”

“In the States, you avoid boring, predictable political speeches . . . that’s a big plus,” said another.

“The attention to scheduling and logistical details helps to avoid wasted time when we come to the ACCE meeting,” offered another. 

And, of course, the inevitable comment by every foreign sampler of North American chamber hospitality,  “We had a lot of fun in Milwaukee.” 

All of this was, of course, very gratifying to hear over the five days of the Congress, in between speeches by President Calderon and Nobel Laureates. Here I was at the premier event for chamber leaders of the entire world. Some of the leaders at the Congress ran chambers with budgets in the hundreds of millions.

As much as I loved hearing the nice comments, I eventually realized that the real basis for their praise is that they don’t really have a basis of comparison. As nice a job as the Mexico City Chamber did with the World Congress this year, there is nothing really like ACCE in the world.  We are an entity that devotes 100 percent of our time and resources to one thing -– increasing the capacity, knowledge and networks of those who lead businesses and communities. Our convention is the manifestation of that mission. We’re not trying to provide a platform for politicians or the host city’s business elite. The ACCE Convention is just a meeting of chamber people, built by chamber people, for chamber people. It’s our learning lab, our best practices showcase, our party. I loved the people of Mexico City, and the WCF program was good. There's just nothing quite like the chamber meeting of choice put on by ACCE each year . . . anywhere.

I hope you’ll experience it this summer in Los Angeles. And yes, I’ll need your help to continue to impress visitors from around the globe.

I received this email update today from Rob O'Brian, president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce:

Good morning, Mick.

Thanks for reaching out by phone. It was a hectic couple of weeks. We do appreciate you putting the Biz Recovery Fund on your website. Let me bring you up to date.

First, our thanks to our many fellow Chambers who have reached out to us during this time. Many have offered concrete guidance based on their own experience that has helped us begin to set a road to recovery for our community and members. Many also indicated they are doing fund-raising with their own members to help Joplin. Thanks so much for that.

Let me take just a moment to give you the impact of this storm. The tornado, according to the National Weather Service, had a track of around 20 miles. About 8 miles of that was EF4* and EF5*, mostly 5. And of course that entire 8 miles was through Joplin and our neighboring community of Duquesne. (*EF is an abbreviation for the Enhanced Fujuita scale, which rates tornadoes based on the amount of damage they cause. The six-step  scale ranges from EF0 to EF5, with EF5 tornadoes having winds exceeding 200 mph; EF4 winds range from 166-200 mph.)

More than 140 of our family members, friends and neighbors were killed, the largest single tornado death toll in more than 60 years.

More than 1,000 were injured. The storm destroyed nearly 7,000 housing units, about 30% of the total, and displaced more than 12,000 people. The high school, one new middle school, two elementary schools and the trade school were destroyed. Several other schools were damaged. More than 450 businesses were directly impacted by the storm, including one of our largest, St. Johns Medical Center, as well as many small businesses. These companies collectively employ about 4,500 people. Hundreds of other firms have, or will have, long-term economic impact from the storm. That’s the bad news.

On the good side, the storm’s path was about 15% of the geography of Joplin. It missed the downtown, where public safety services are based. Consequently, the city was able to quickly mount rescue efforts. We have a number of communities that surround us, and they immediately sent aid. Hundreds of volunteers flooded the area to help. This quick action saved scores of lives.

The University was untouched and became the staging area for the thousands of volunteers from many communities who rushed to our aid. Most of the retailers were not damaged and able to function for groceries, clothing and building materials. In the days following the tornado, my team had personal contact, sometimes standing in the rubble and sometimes on the phone, with nearly 400 of the firms wrecked by the storm (almost 200 of them Chamber members, nearly 20% of our total). All but two indicated they would rebuild. That is a great statement of faith in our future. The two large “big box” stores that were hit, Wal-Mart and Home Depot are already clearing the sites. St. Johns will also rebuild.

We are thankful for the great outpouring of volunteerism, of food, water and so much else. I can say the attitude here is actually quite positive and our citizens are upbeat and ready to rebuild as fast as possible.

I know, Mick, that many Chambers and businesses around the country want to know how they can help. We appreciate that. To help our business recovery efforts, we have our Business Recovery Fund on our website: joplincc.com. There’s a “donate” button at the top of the page and a link to rebuildjoplin.org on the right side of the page where people affected by the tornado can state their needs, and those willing to contribute money, resources or volunteer time can do so. On that page are recovery funds for the schools, for social service agencies and for residents.

Again, thank you and all of our Chamber friends and colleagues for your thoughts and prayers. Best to you all.

Rob

Rob O'Brian, CEcD
President
Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce
320 E. 4th Street
Joplin, MO 64801
417.624.4150 (o)
417.438.0100 (m)
417.624.4303 (f)
robrian@joplincc.com
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 5-Star Accreditation

At the US Chamber's BCLC event last week, I visited with a couple dozen foundation and government agency grantmakers who work predominantly on local/regional/community advancement.  People who fund kids and green priorities were on hand, but so were folks who invest in projects for the homeless and entrepreneurs.  Few of these grantors know what you  do . . . how chambers are involved in meaningful ways to advance their communities and regions.  BCLC certainly understands the role you play, but their national/international corporate and philantropic partners often think of you as an audience rather than as a grantee.  Some recognize that they might need the involvement of the business community and have some vague notion that this participation might come through  involvement of a chamber, but most don't really seem to get it.

I don't blame them . . . I can't.  In conversations with individual big funders during the two days of meetings, it was clear that few have had meaningful "pitches" from chambers.  No chambers were present during the meeting in Philly this year and they seldom attend this annual gathering of the community investors unless they are winning an award, (as Grand Rapids Chamber did last year and Chapel Hill the year before. 

It wouldn't be right to blame chambers either.  Most past approaches by chambers to national funders of community projects have been rebuffed.  Many chamber leaders have found meetings of foundation decision-makers to be frustrating affairs.  Somehow, we need to break through this divide.  There is too much that you are doing (or could do) that deserves foundation support.  And, there are too many foundation goals being left unfulfilled because they never connect with the business leaders they need to engage in their cool programs.  Since three big funders specificially asked ACCE to work on this disconnect, I think there's gotta be a way.

Among those tasked with underwriting (as opposed to undertaking) efforts to restore and build local economies, there seems to be a growing understanding that it takes more than theorists and strategists to sweeten the future economy.  Three times this spring, I will be meeting with collections of foundation, corporate and quasi-government types who appear to be considering adoption of some fresh or broader portfolios.  They are at least talking about putting resources in the hands of groups that take action and make change at the local/regional level.  Many (most) such resource pools have historically leaned toward funding bee watchers, and bee watcher watchers, rather than bees.  Studies, conferences, public discourse and “thought leadership” about regional development provide worthy destinations for foundation dollars, but sending a few bucks to support the entities who actually make the honey, i.e., groups who help employers employ somebody.  Let’s hope that one or more of these enlightened resources comes through for the who bring nector to the hives (chambers and chamber-like organizations).  Since you face environmental dangers and predators galore . . . you could use the help.