CHAMBER NEWS
BY KIMBERLY KAHL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
WHILE THE NEW year always brings thoughts of renewal and new beginnings, I think most of us are extra happy this year to see 2020 in the rearview mirror. At the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, we are certainly looking forward to this new year where we are going to try to return to some of the old events and ideas (at least as much as COVID will allow) and bring in some new ideas and events, too.
In February, the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors will be meeting to set the strategic direction for the Chamber for the coming years. I have been working for membership organizations for over 20 years and the response when talking about planning is always mixed. It is time consuming and it can be difficult to take the time away from other things. Yet, I’m always reminded of this exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat:
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where--” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“-so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
Fortunately, we know where we want to go. We want our member businesses and organizations to be successful. That’s the easy part. The hard part is defining what success looks like. Plus, how do we get there? What do our members need from us? What is the path that will lead to that success?
That is where our planning begins. It doesn’t begin with the two days the board is meeting to develop the plan. It begins in the weeks leading up to those sessions when our members and other community businesses and organizations have the opportunity to tell us how they envision success and what the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce can do to help them get there.
The Yuma County Chamber of Commerce will soon be sending out a short survey to the membership, key constituents, and select businesses around Yuma County. If you receive this survey, we hope you will complete it. We promise to keep it brief. We also promise that every response will be read and included in the packet given to the board for consideration prior to the planning sessions. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in those 20+ years of managing membership organizations, it’s that listening to members is the key to an organization’s success because the organization’s success rests on the members’ success.
As we ring in 2021,
I am again grateful for the opportunity to serve the members of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce and the Yuma County business community. I look forward to making 2021 a great year!