Category: Podcast Episode

Matt Largen joins us this week for an important discussion about responding to racism. Over the past several months, racial inequality and racism have gained more public attention, especially after the murder of George Floyd. Matt is leading with an example to show how a Chamber of Commerce can play a role in seeing that these racial issues get the attention they deserve.

Matt share with us how Williamson, Inc. led an initiative to have the image of the confederate flag removed from their county seal. Williamson, Inc. has also established a Black Business Coalition to create a platform for voices to be hear and ideas to be shared while providing guidance and support for the members of this coalition.

If you would like to connect with Matt about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: Matt@WilliamsonChamber.com
• Twitter

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Allen Smith joins us for this episode to discuss some of the recent changes that have resulted in the formation of OneSpartanburg, Inc. which included a rebrand and a mission to create a vibrant community for business, economic and tourism development.

In this episode, Allen shares about the 5 year plan for OneSpartanburg, Inc. and how that played into their rebrand as they move towards the future.

If you would like to connect with Allen about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can email him at asmith@spartanburgchamber.com.

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Casey Steinbacher is our guest this week to discuss her new e-book titled “From Relevant to Essential” that will go live on Amazon any day now. As Casey explains in our discussion, this book is more about the “why” and her next book will cover more of the technical “how” answers.

As I visited with Casey, I became very excited about reading this book because it is formatted in a way that “sets the table” for why she is even starting this conversation. Casey is clear about how timely this book is. She hopes that it will quickly become outdated as Chambers learn and adapt from the message that she shares.

Keep an eye out for announcements on the release date for “From Relevant to Essential” so we can learn from Casey together!

If you would like to connect with Casey about her upcoming book or anything she discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see her contact information below:

• findingnext.com
• Email: casey@caseyscompany.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

This episode with Dave Adkisson has been over a year in the making. Dave recently retired as the President & CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. When I learned that he would be retiring soon, I reached out to him right away to schedule him as a guest on the podcast. That is when he told me that he was working on this book and we decided to wait until his book was ready to have him on the podcast. I am so glad that we waited!

Horseshoes vs. Chess is the best description that I have seen or heard about what a Chamber of Commerce is or should be. The book gives great examples from Dave’s career working at Chambers of various sizes and he shares many lessons that he has established throughout his Chamber career.

We had a great conversation in this episode as Dave shares a little bit behind the curtain about the making of this great resource for Chamber Champions.

If you would like to connect with Dave about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• chamberdave.com
• Email: dave@chamberdave.com

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Patrick Ellis, President & CEO of the Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber is our guest this week to discuss why it is important for Chambers to diversify their funding sources beyond membership. For some Chambers, this could mean contracting economic development work or tourism. For others it could mean accessing grants or other types of sponsorships. Patrick does a great job explaining different options to give some ideas as to what your Chamber can do to stay relevant while continuing to fund your organization going forward.

If you would like to connect with Patrick about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: patrick@mwcoc.org
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Tiffany Esposito is our guest this week to share with us the unique membership model that they have recently adopted at SWFL, Inc. SWFL, Inc. was recently created from what was previously the Bonita Springs Chamber. This transition has positioned their organization to serve more as a regional Chamber as opposed to identifying with just one city since they already had members throughout the region.

In this episode, Tiffany discusses what makes their organization different than a traditional Chamber as far as their membership model looks. As you hear Tiffany share how their Chamber is structured, you may want to check out their packages and pricing structures, including their freemium model.

If you would like to connect with Tiffany about anything she discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see her contact information below:

• Email: tiffany@swflinc.com
• Website: swflinc.com

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Brad Lacy joins us this week to share how the Conway Area Chamber makes a real show out of their annual meetings. As Brad puts it, if you don’t want to attend your own annual meeting, how can you expect others to come and for the meeting to be successful? With this mentality, Brad and the Conway Area Chamber have seriously taken their annual meetings to a much higher level and have become the “must have ticket” each year in their community. You can see a couple of samples below of promotional videos that they have created to really build up the hype for their annual meeting and to introduce a theme.

If you would like to connect with Brad about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: brad@conwayarkansas.org
• Phone: 501-329-7788

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Matt Pivarnik joins us for this week’s discussion as he shares the knowledge and perspective that he gained while working at the Tulsa Regional Chamber that he was able to bring with him to Topeka to what has now become the Greater Topeka Partnership.

As you listen to Matt talk, you can understand why he is such a big fan of partnership organizations. As different organizations all try to promote their city, there is often a lot of overlap between the Chamber’s message, and that of the tourism organization and economic development and others. Matt shares his thoughts around combining organizations to leverage talent in certain areas which also allow for you to attract talent that any one organization on their own would have a hard time doing.

If you would like to connect with Matt about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can email him at mpivarnik@greatertopeka.org.

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

As we finally wrap up the year 2020, I wanted to reflect and share the top 20 lessons that I was able to extract from the crazy ride that 2020 has been for so many of us. You will see lessons I learned below with links to any past episodes or any other links that I mentioned. You will have to listen to the episode to get any additional context around each lesson.

1. The importance of being flexible.
2. The necessity of reserve funds. (Responding to Financial Impact Amid Hyper-Change with Michael Gellman part I, part II)
3. Burning of sacred cows.
4. The need to pivot.
5. The support system among Chamber Champions is strong. (Chamber of Commerce Professionals FB Group, Izzy West’s Blog)
6. Advocacy in new ways.
7. The need for business specific advocacy.
8. Virtual can also be reality.
9. Zoom can be highly effective.
10. The need for some organizations to merge together. (Merging Organizations with Megan Lucas)
11. The importance of personal communication.
12. The need for multiple sources of revenue.
13. The ability for brick and mortar businesses to sell online has never been more important.
14. The opportunity to show your membership that the Chamber is more than a networking group.
15. This is the time to be innovative for the needs of your community.
16. The need to be future ready. (Future Ready with Christy Gillenwater)
17. Disruption often brings new opportunities. (Disruption-The Necessity for Every Chamber with Shannon Full)
18. This will be a pivotal and a defining time for all of us.
19. Podcasting can be a great tool for Chambers of Commerce. (Should Your Chamber Podcast?, Pivot to Podcasting with Angie Whitcomb)
20. The worth of a Chamber has never been more valuable than in 2020!

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.