Announcement
 Hello everyone, I’m Louise Heine, Director of Marketing and Member Relations for The York County Chamber of Commerce in Pennsylvania. Before relocating to York ten years ago I lived in Maryland and West Virginia. I still find it amazing when I think back as to how I entered the Chamber world.
When I knew I was moving to York I went online and searched the area, which of course led me to The York County Chamber of Commerce Web site. After checking out the relocation pages and statistics I searched the categories of business members (because I wanted reliable businesses) with marketing, public relations and communications and then sent out my resume. Long story short, even though he wasn’t hiring one of the business owners (who I later found out was a past board member) sent my resume to the Chamber. Now after ten years and two Web site redesigns I’m still searching the Chamber’s site everyday.
Everything is different now and I’m totally enjoying discovering new processes to streamline our programs and events, technologies that improve our communications and help us build new relations with an every changing marketplace.
Louise Heine
Director of Marketing & Member Relations
BUSINESSvoice Editor
York County Chamber of Commerce
www.YorkChamber.com | 717.771.4581
Chairman's Message
 In our last division conference call, Crystal Moore proposed a theme for the 2011 ACCE Conference in Los Angeles: “running your chamber like a business.” As I think about the difference between a business and a chamber, or some other nonprofit, it’s all about the MONEY.
A chamber is in business for its members. Dues and program and event fees should sustain the administration of a valuable benefit package.
But, your members want you on the edge of innovation. Small businesses expect you to be more high-tech than they are, and they want access to an arsenal of benefits that don’t come with additional invoices. Large businesses want your chamber to be at the forefront of community investment and progress. Elected officials want you at the table and, at times, want you to set the table, for public policy discussions involving business interests.
Self-sustaining won’t quite cut it. Chambers need to be profitable. Period. Profits equal up-to-date technology, the ability to maintain key staff, investment in the community and reinvestment in chamber programs.
eHow.com, a site similar to Wikipedia, likens running a chamber to running a small business, but goes on to articulate their perception of a distinction:
“The chamber may have any number of programs that will appeal to its members: newsletters, awards, educational opportunities and so forth. These may or may not be moneymakers, but they should forward the mission of the organization--which should be helping its members in their business endeavors. Because a chamber is a nonprofit organization and its funds go toward the betterment of its members, certain programs may be loss-producing activities by design. However, a good executive is constantly monitoring the numbers to make sure predetermined goals are met, even if they are nonfinancial ones such as number of members served.”
Yikes! In this day and age, anything that loses money isn’t destined to last long, and I would venture to say your members would have misgivings about your chamber investing in a program that breaks the bank – yours OR theirs.
It should make for some interesting conversation at the convention…
Adrienne Olson
Communications & Community Relations Manager
Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce
218.359.0524 (p) | 218.233.1200 (f)
adrienne@fmchamber.com
Social Media Corner
8 ways Chambers of Commerce can use social media to improve their business
As a chamber of commerce, you are essentially a real, live social network of members who have come together for their common self-interest. So taking the next step to use a new set of tools to facilitate this community and help connect people makes a lot of sense, right? Here you can learn 8 ways your chamber can use social media to achieve your business objectives. Read more.
This article sponsored by: Social Media Leaps
Network Development
 ACCE is on Facebook! ACCE is expanding its social media presence and is now on Facebook. Connect with ACCE on its Facebook Fan page today!
 LinkedIn
 Does anyone have an additional line item on their membership invoices for donations or to help your organization financially? I know in...
 How do you define communications in your organization? How does this mesh with marketing?
 Is anyone considering new ways to produce a membership directory? Do you still print a directory or have you found a more effective method?
Blogs
 This new feature will spotlight blogs related to communication that I find interesting or have been sent to me by your peers. I found this one one the website of a speaker from the 2010 Milwaukee Convention. Nancy Schwartz is a communications consultant and speaker who specializes in non-profit marketing. Check out her latest blog which features guest blogger Rebecca Leet, titled Five Steps to Nonprofit Messaging Success.
Book Review
 Rebecca Leet's blog post mentions the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. I read the first chapter and it brought to mind a recent conversation I had with the chair of one of my divisions. She said she wanted to be a "change agent" in her particular discipline within the chamber industry. We talked about her ideas but more importantly how she was going to get the rest of the committee on board.
Her idea was an extreme shift in the way chambers have traditionally viewed their members but yet was a concept that consitstantly came up in conversation over the last few years. It was bold and in these times of streamlining it was daunting. Surprisingly, getting people on board wasn't hard. They were thinking the same thing but didn't dare say it. Once she knew she had buy-in, she methodically set up worksheets and conference calls so that her team was "forced" to contribute and engage. She's still working on it, but so far so good.
As I read the first chapter of Switch, I realized how my volunteer implemented the book's strategy for changing behavior with few resources and little structural change. Switch touts that this can be accomplished by doing three things simultaneously; changing the situation/environment, giving clear direction and motivating/engaging. It is an easy read with plenty of examples. Click the picture to read the first chapter, or check out Switch on Amazon.
Crystal Moore
Director, Education & Convention
ACCE
(703) 998-3550
|
