Are Chambers of Commerce still relevant?

NH Business: Are Chambers of Commerce still relevant to businesses & communities in a digital age of online resources and global business?

Tim Sink, of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce and Donna Morris, President of the Greater Derry / Londonderry Chamber of Commerce sit down with Fred Kocher to discuss the relevance and role a Chamber of Commerce plays in a digital age of online networking and business.

DAY SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM. WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE’S. BUSINESS I’M FRED KOCHER. WE LIVE IN AN AGE OF GLOBAL BUSINESS, DIGITAL ONLINE NETWORKNG, DIGITAL RESOURCES AND PROFESSIONAL. ASSOCIATIONS. SO HOW ARE LOCAL CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE ABLE TO STAY RELEVANT AND VIABLE FOR THEIR LOCAL MEMBERS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES? HERE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS REVEALED IN A FEBRUARY SURVEY. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LEADERS IN U.S. AND CANADA STEPPED UP EFFORTS WITH LOCAL ECONOMIES. ADVOCACY FOR POLICIES AND CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE, A DIVERSIFICATION OF REVENUE STREAMS, EMPHASIS ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION. THAT’S FROM GROWTH ZONE SOFTWARE, WHO CONDUCTED THEIR 11TH ANNUAL CHAMBER SURVEY JUST THIS IN FEBRUARY. WITH ME TO TELL US HOW THEY REMAIN RELEVANT AND VIABLE ARE THE PRESIDENTS OF TWO OF NEW HAMPSHIRE’S 45 LOCAL AND REGIONAL CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. DONNA MORRIS, PRESIDENT OF THE GREATER DERRY LONDONDERRY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND FORMERLY PRESIDENT OF SALEM’S CHAMBER. AND TIM SINK, PRESIDENT OF THE GREATER CONCORD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. BECAUSE TIM IS RETIRING AFTER 33 YEARS, THAT SAW DOWNTOWN CONCORD TRANSFORMED. WELCOME TO YOU BOTH. THANK YOU. FRED. NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. YOU TWO ARE THE MOST TWO OF THE MOST EXPERIENCED CHAMBER LEADERS IN THE STATE. SO I HAVE TO THINK YOUR CHAMBERS ARE DOING MOST, IF NOT ALL, OF THE ITEMS THAT WE JUST PUT UP ON THAT SURVEY IN ORDER TO STAY VIABLE AND TO GROW YOUR MEMBERSHIP, ESPECIALLY IN THIS UNPREDICTABLE YEAR. DONNA. YES, INDEED. I THINK THAT RELEVANCY STARTS WITH HOW MUCH YOU PUT INTO IT, AND IT BEGINS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. YEAH. SO I THINK THAT’S TRUE THROUGHOUT. KIM, WHAT ABOUT THAT? I MEAN. TIMES CHANGE, TIMES CHANGE, AND YOU HAVE TO CHANGE WITH THEM IN ORDER TO BE RELEVANT. ABSOLUTELY. WE ARE CHAMBERS ARE INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSES FOR COMMUNITIES. AND THAT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT ROLE THAT WE PLAY. BUT YOU HAD MENTIONED ADVOCACY AND CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE ARE BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. MOST CHAMBERS ARE INVOLVED ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. AT THE STATE LEVEL, BUT WE CAN REALLY HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE LOCAL LEVEL WITH OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. THERE HAVE BEEN MERGERS OF CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DECADES. KEENE AND PETERBOROUGH COME TO MIND. THE CENTRAL NEW HAMPSHIRE CHAMBER WAS FORMED OUT OF A LOT OF LAKES REGION CHAMBERS. WHAT CAUSED THOSE MERGERS AND ARE THERE SOME POSSIBLE GOING FORWARD? I THINK THERE ARE. WHAT CAUSES THEM IS USUALLY YOU NEED CRITICAL MASS TO HAVE A CHAMBER. NO MEMBERSHIP, NO MISSION. SO THESE CHAMBERS ARE MERGING BECAUSE THEY’RE RELATIVELY SMALL COMMUNITIES. AND IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE FROM AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE. BUT THERE ARE CHALLENGES. AND I’VE BEEN AROUND YOU MENTIONED 33 YEARS. I’VE BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO WATCH SOME OF THE MERGERS TAKE PLACE. AND THEY’RE NOT ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL. THERE ARE USUALLY A COMMUNITY THAT FEELS LIKE THEY’RE BEING LEFT OUT. SOMETIMES, AND THAT’S THAT’S FAIRLY COMMON IN THESE MERGERS. DONNA, YOU’VE GOT DERRY LONDON DERRY, BUT THAT’S BEEN THE CASE FROM THE BEGINNING, RIGHT? YEAH. WE REPRESENT EIGHT COMMUNITIES. BUT I THINK WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN MERGING WITH ANOTHER CHAMBER SOMETIMES IS LOOKING AT WHAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE THE SAME GOVERNOR. SO INSTEAD OF HAVING THE GOVERNOR DOWN AT ONE CHAMBER AND THEN THE CHAMBER NEXT DOOR, YOU PARTNER ON THOSE TYPES OF EVENTS. SALEM AND DERRY LONDONDERRY USED TO DO THAT A LOT, PARTICULARLY WITH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. THAT WAS ALWAYS A LOT OF FUN WHEN THEY WOULD COME IN THE AREA. YOU NEED THAT THRESHOLD, BUT THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT A LOCAL CHAMBER WHERE YOU’VE GOT THAT CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNITY. YOU CAN SOMETIMES MERGERS CAN YOU CAN SPREAD YOURSELF A LITTLE TOO THIN, AND PEOPLE DON’T FEEL THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAT REALLY COMES WITH THE CHAMBER. WHAT’S THE LOCAL ISSUE ON THE FRONT BURNER FOR YOUR CHAMBER? NOW? DERRY LONDONDERRY IS IT HOUSING? IS IT CHILDCARE? IS IT WORKFORCE? IS IT TARIFFS? YES. ALL OF THOSE. YES. ALL OF THEM. AND THEY ARE INTERTWINED OBVIOUSLY. I THINK THE TARIFFS ARE PROBABLY THE BIGGEST THING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT DOES SPREAD TO SO MANY DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES. DERRY LONDONDERRY HAS A VERY STRONG BREWERY, LOCAL BREWERY, MICROBREW COMPANIES AND THE COST OF ALUMINUM IS GOING TO REALLY HIT SOME OF THEM. BUT YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THE BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES ALONG I-93 WITH THE FORAY EXPANSION AND THE OVER 100, ALMOST 600 ACRES OF DEVELOPABLE LAND. WITH THE UNCERTAINTY OF WHAT THE COST OF LUMBER OR STEEL OR COPPER IS GOING TO BE, A LOT OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE WAITING. THEY’RE WAITING, WAITING TO SEE BEFORE THEY PURSUE THAT TYPE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT. SAME. SAME QUESTION. WELL, I WOULD SAY UP UNTIL RECENTLY, HOUSING WAS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST ISSUE IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT A LOT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE ON THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL, JUST WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF CONCORD. WE’VE GOT SOMETHING LIKE 25 OR 2700 UNITS THAT ARE IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW. SO WE’RE WE’RE MAKING 700, 20, 700. SO WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS. WE’RE MAKING A MAKING A DENT THERE. TARIFFS. THERE’S A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT THAT. BUT THE ISSUE REALLY HASN’T DROPPED THERE. AND I’VE GOTTEN SOME MIXED REACTIONS FROM SOME OF OUR MEMBERS. WE ALSO HAVE A BREWERY THAT IS SUFFERING FROM ALUMINUM TARIFFS. BUT WE HAVE CAR DEALERSHIPS. AND WE HAVE SEEN THOSE INCREASED SALES IN ANTICIPATION OF COSTS GOING UP. TIM, PRESIDENT OF THE GREATER CONCORD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND DONNA MORRIS, PRESIDENT OF THE DERRY LONDONDERRY GREATER DERRY, LONDONDERRY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. THANK YOU. SURE. IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS BRIEFING ON CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, YOU CAN G

NH Business: Are Chambers of Commerce still relevant to businesses & communities in a digital age of online resources and global business?

Are Chambers of Commerce still relevant?

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