A message to the Woodstock Chamber

Look at the following three paragraphs, taken directly from a Northwest Herald article online today with the headline, "Former Cary leader rebukes D26 board". These are the comments of former Cary mayor, Steve Lamal.

"'This is the time for the school board to show leadership – the leadership that has been absent, frankly, for three to four years,' Lamal said.

"He put blame for the district's financial situation directly on the board, pointing out that the board, not the administration, was responsible for passing a budget each year. The district has been deficit spending for the better part of a decade.

"'You approved the budget and failed to manage the expenses,' Lamal said."

Now, shift the context to the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, which is about to lose it headquarters building at 136 Cass Street. Let's do a little word replacement here and see how it turns out.

"This is the time for the chamber board to show leadership – the leadership that has been absent, frankly, for ten to fifteen years."

"Put blame for the chamber's financial situation directly on the board, pointing out that the board, not the administration, was responsible for passing a budget each year. The chamber has been deficit spending for more than a decade and a half.

"You approved the budget and failed to manage the expenses."

Is there still time to save the Chamber's headquarters and the Chamber itself? Should the town at the center of the county, and home to county government, just let the Chamber slide on into oblivion?

Just as with customers and clients, it's a whole lot easier (and cheaper) for a business to keep the ones it has than it is to get new ones. It'll be a lot cheaper to rescue the Chamber's financial position now than to part with the building and move into rental space.

A recent newspaper article mentioned the Chamber's monthly "nut" on the building - somewhere around $3,000/month (PITI). Subtract $600 for rental income for one of the two upstairs offices. Get busy and rent the second office for another $600. OK, that knocks the Chamber's office cost down to $1,800. Where are they going to rent office space for much less than that???

It's regrettable that Tom Sagendorf was unable to continue as Interim Executive Director. Tom brought true executive leadership to the Chamber. But apparently a plan was put together during his short tenure.

Are there really 300 dues-paying members in good standing; i.e., dues on a current basis? An average of $300 each? That's $90,000. A Chamber can recover and operate on that.

According to the Chamber's website (www.woodstockilchamber.com), the Chamber is now operating without an Executive Director, a President, a Vice-President or a Secretary. It might do without a VP, but it must have a Secretary. Todd Kinker is serving as Interim President. Thanks, Todd.

One of my main gripes about Chambers of Commerce in former cities of residence is that they were always nickel and diming members to death. Members saw their chamber dues as an expense, not as the investment sold by the sales reps for the chambers.

The purpose of a Chamber should be to promote a growing and positive environment and atmosphere for the businesses in the community. Active leadership attracts and retains membership. New businesses will come right in and join a strong chamber. All members want to be recognized and valued.

One of three main benefits of membership should not be a canceled check from your bank about 30 days after you pay your dues!!!

Members should stop waiting for someone to rescue the Chamber. Now is the time for them to roll up their sleeves and jump right in to save this Chamber.