Category: Podcast Episode

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RaDonna Hessel from the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce in Texas joins us for our second interview of the 2019 Chamber of the Year Finalist Series.  
RaDonna shares great insights about how she is working with her board and how they are gaining momentum to reach their goals as they serve the community.  In business, keygoals are usually prioritized in the order of 1) Leadership 2) Customers 3) Profit.  The board for the Grapevine Chamber took this model and adapted it for the Chamber.  Their key goals are 1) Leadership 2) Businesses & Partners 3) Good Stewardship & Prosperity.  The board then takes responsibility for certain areas with in this model.  As the board meets, they no longer need agendas prepared because the goals and their individual responsibilities become the agenda as they all report on the progress they are making in their respective areas.  RaDonna commented on how nobody wants to be the person who comes to the board meeting with nothing to report!  

The other program the Grapevine Chamber submitted on their Chamber of the Year application was their Association Healthcare Plan.  Many Chambers throughout the country have association healthcare plans, but this regional plan that RaDonna helped to establish is a little unique.  Originally, she thought they would extend into 4 counties.  This quickly expanded into 28 counties which in total had a potential for 128 Chamber of Commerce to participate.  Needless to say, this was a large task to make this association healthcare plan work.  Soon after its creation, lawsuits filed in Washington put a hold on association healthcare plans.  Currently they are still able to service existing customers and those who already had applications in process, but they are not able to accept any new applications until the lawsuits are resolved.  Stay tuned to see how this legislation will effect your Chamber and any potential association healthcare plan.

If you would like to connect with RaDonna Hessel about anything she discussed in this episode, you can reach her by email at radonna@grapevinechamber.org, office phone 817-481-1522 or on her mobile at 972-839-2126 .

In your mission to be a great Chamber, consider delegating to an award-winning publisher and Chamber partner like Community Matters, Inc. for your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters can handle all of the ad sales, design work, collection, and distribution. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking print & digital publication and a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to receive a bid for your next publication.

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Ron Bunch joins us for the first episode in our Chamber of the Year Finalist Series.  Ron is the President & CEO of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce in Kentucky.  Throughout this COY Finalist Series, we will be discussing what each Chamber is doing to stand out to be noticed and considered for Chamber of the Year.

Ron talks about several programs that the Bowling Green Area Chamber is doing with regards to education and workforce development.  One of their signature programs is their SCK (South Central Kentucky) Launch program which was developed with the Covey  team.  The Bowling Green area was the first community to implement the K-12 program from Covey.  The SCK Lauch program teaches ethics based leadership skill to grades K-12.  In the SCK Launch program, the Chamber works with the Ford Foundation to acquire current technology for these students to learn with the same tools that they will be using in the workplace.  The Bowling Green Chamber also works with Gallup to collect accurate data each month about the workforce needs in the region.  Another goal that they have through the partnership with Gallup is to provide the opportunity for 100% of their students to explore some type of work experience before graduation.  Currently they are seeing about 1/3 of their workforce needs being met within their region while 2/3 or the workforce needs are coming from recruitment from outside the area. 

These education and workforce programs tie in with a program that the Chamber puts on at the University each year called “Welcome Back Western”.  With this program, the Chamber partners who participate can start building relationships with the 20,000 university students with a goal of keeping more of the students in the local workforce as they finish their educations.  Each of these programs strategically build upon each other in a very synergistic way.

The Bowling Green Area Chamber also has an annual Women’s Leadership Conference that is steadily building momentum each year.

Ron talks about the importance of dynamic team building.  He points out that with the aging baby boomer population, that there is insufficient talent for the workforce.  The Bowling Green Area Chamber uses the StrengthsFinder program from Clifton to identify the strengths for future employees and to build a more positive and productive workplace for the current Chamber staff.  His goal for each staff member is to create independent subject matter experts.  Ron quotes a nation wide study that shows only 15-20% of employees are engaged at work.  By matching staff strengths with areas of responsibility, they have happier, more productive team members who then are better equipped to serve their member partners and can create a viral effect for these member partners to better serve their customers.

The piece of advice from Ron that resonated the most for me was the idea for Chambers to take a leadership role in their communities.  The Bowling Green Area Chamber has done this in many different areas, but especially in education and workforce development. 

If you would like to connect with Ron Bunch about anything he discussed in this episode, you can reach him by email at ron@bgchamber.com or his COO, Merideth at merideth@bgchamber.com.

In your mission to be a great Chamber, consider delegating to an award-winning publisher and Chamber partner like Community Matters, Inc. for your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters can handle all of the ad sales, design work, collection, and distribution. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking print & digital publication and a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to receive a bid for your next publication.

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My guest today is Kevin Hall from the Greater Anna Chamber of Commerce in Anna, TX.  Kevin has been the Executive Directer in Anna for about 7 years now.  Anna is a fast growing community but is still on the smaller side when compared to some other cities in the area.  Kevin is the sole employee at the Greater Anna Chamber and as such, he has become an expert of sorts when it comes to delegating to his board and other volunteers.  In this episode, Kevin shares what he has learned, both the good and the bad as he delegates.  He also shares what areas he chooses to delegate.  

Kevin tells us about a Chamber Banquet where he had to rely on the help of others to pull it off and things did not go as well as he would have liked.  In retrospect, he realized that one of the main volunteers was being asked to do too much and was spread too thin.  As a result, he let his volunteers know that change is okay, even on the fly as it happens at times.  He encourages his volunteers to be more flexible and to communicate when things are not going well so they can make adjustments.

While planning for the Chamber’s Golf Tournament, Kevin talks about what he learned from the experience at the Chamber Banquet. He created a task list and then noted to his volunteers that the task list was flexible.  With this flexible philosophy, the result was that the Golf Tournament turned out much better.

Kevin shared a couple of great take-aways in this episode.

The ABCD’s of Delegating:

• A) Absolutely needs to be done now.
• B) What needs to be done in hours.
• C) What needs to be done in days.
• D) What can be delegated.

Practicing this exercise regularly helps us to learn when we need to delegate.

The other great take-away is that everything has a cost.  The cost comes in the form of Time, Treasure, or Talent.

If you would like to connect with Kevin Hall about anything that was discussed in this episode, he can be reached by the contact information below.

• kevin@greaterannachamber.com
• 972-924-8533
• Facebook.com/greaterannachamber

An easy way to delegate is to partner with an award-winning publisher like Community Matters, Inc. for your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters can handle all of the ad sales, design work, collection, and distribution. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking print & digital publication and a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to receive a bid for your next publication.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Spotify

My guest this week is Jim Johnson from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce in Georgetown, TX.  As we talk about the importance of serving the greater business community in this episode, Jim shares a recent experience that has made him look at this topic more closely.  In February 2018, a gas leak was found in a part of their town where there was a large concentration of businesses.  Because of the make up of the soil, the gas did not dissipate very quickly and about 70 businesses were forced to evacuate for their safety.  Of these 70 businesses, only 10-15% were Chamber members.  Jim made the decision to advocate for all of these businesses, not just the members.  The Chamber had signs made to direct customers to the temporary location for these businesses.  The Chamber also communicated with the gas company to try to reach a settlement for the displaced businesses and loss of revenue.  One of the big lessons that Jim learned through this experience is the need to have good contact information for all businesses in his community.  By having good contact information, the Chamber can better communicate in a timely manner when needs arise.  Besides emergency situations such as this one, there are other times where it is important to reach out to ALL local businesses.  Jim has a goal to one day have a printed directory of all of the businesses in Georgetown and a database to go with it.

Another way that the Georgetown Chamber engages non-member businesses is through their annual bridal show.  The Georgetown Chamber is unique in that they have an event venue attached to their building that they rent out for non-dues revenue.  They are able to leverage this facility through this bridal show and they invite all businesses in the area that are involved in the wedding industry to participate.
If you would like to connect with Jim Johnson about anything we discussed or how he is doing things at the Georgetown Chamber, you can email him at jim@georgetownchamber.org or you can reach him by phone at 512-930-3535.

If you have a need for a publisher for your next Chamber Directory or Map, please consider Community Matters, Inc. as a partner with their turnkey system, award winning quality, and great reputation.

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Chris Romer from the Vail Valley Partnership was referred to me when Frank Kenny was on the Chamber Chat Podcast.  Chris and the VVP do a great job collecting meaningful data from their membership that they then use to develop new programs that fill a need for their members and drive economic success.  Chris stresses the importance of making data informed decisions, and not just following a hunch or what seems like a good idea to your staff.  Some of the ways that the VVP collects data is from visits to businesses, surveys, flash polling, and listening sessions.  They utilize thematic questions which allows them to identify common themes or needs to focus on.
In this interview, Chris and I talk about some of the member needed programs, how they came to be, what need they filled, and how the programs have played out.  You can click here to see the many programs that the VVP offers.  The ones we focus on for our discussion are: My Partner Career Network, One Valley Healthcare Program, and Lodging Quality Assurance Program.
My Partner Career Network: This is a trailing spouse program.  Often a person will be transferred to the Vail Valley for a new job and their spouse makes the move with them but does not have a job before making the move.  With the My Partner Career Network, the “trailing spouse” is able to get their resume in front of the businesses that are a good fit for them within this network of members.  This program obviously helps the family that is relocating.  It also helps the businesses and HR departments that are looking to hire quality candidates.  It is also a benefit to the business that made the hire for the initial spouse to offer this program to help the spouse with job placement.  The My Partner Career Network has had a 90% success rate for job placement!

One Valley Healthcare Program:  This program came about because many of the member businesses in the VVP are small businesses where providing healthcare benefits can be difficult.  The One Valley Healthcare Program is an Association Healthcare Plan that allows for group rates for purchasing healthcare in a shared network.  This program was implemented in November of 2018 but most people are already seeing a 50-60% savings on their healthcare costs.
Lodging Quality Assurance Program:  This program has been in existence for over 20 years.  The Vail Valley is a tourist driven area and over 20 years ago, the VVP noticed that some of the area lodging reviews in magazines were taking a dip to lower ratings than they were content with.  This was before online reviews were popular.  In response to this problem, the VVP created a 100 point checklist for their area hotels and condos to work through before being inspected and rated.  These ratings can then be shared with the property owners, visitors, and with those making reservations.  This program created a standard for lodging in the area to live up to and to create consistency in the industry.  There is both member and non-member pricing but this program has really gained momentum to the point where every place of lodging in the area participates.
To learn more about these great member needed programs and the others offered by the VVP, you can reach out to Chris Romer by email at cromer@visitvailvalley.com, by phone at 970-477-4016 or you can connect on Facebook or LinkedIn.

If you have a need for a publisher for your next Chamber Directory or Map, please consider Community Matters, Inc. as a partner with their turnkey system, award winning quality, and great reputation.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Spotify

Aaron Cox from the Texas Association of Business and TCCE, is my guest for this episode as we talk about the importance of Leadership & Professional Development.  Aaron mentions how the world today needs strong, solid leaders who have integrity, courage, and passion.  With Chambers of Commerce being one of the most critical organizations, Aaron has a passion for strong leaders in the Chamber industry.

As we discuss Chamber leadership, we talk about how many of us look up to a mentor in the industry.  As we look up to our mentors it can become easy to idolize them.  In response to this, Aaron urges to not idolize, but instead we should understand them.  By seeking to understand them we are no longer idle and we can then take actions to become like them.  Some great ways to understand these mentors is to talk to them and to work to further your professional development.  This may include attending statewide Chamber conferences or ACCE conferences.  By attending these conferences and being in the same room with many like-minded individuals, you are able to learn from them and listen to problems or trends that others are seeing so you can be better prepared to handle your Chambers needs. 

Aaron brought up one of his favorite authors, John Maxwell.  We talked about how leaders are readers.  Aaron also referenced “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell.

Aaron suggested that we ask ourselves “What impact are we having on people?”  Are you creating a legacy?  
Having Real Reasons + Solutions = Problem Solving.

Aaron Cox can be reached at:
Acox@texbiz.org or by phone at 512-637-7711.

If you have a need for a publisher for your next Chamber Directory or Map, please consider Community Matters, Inc. as a partner with their turnkey system, award winning quality, and great reputation.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Spotify

Gary Molberg from the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce was a fantastic guest to have on the podcast! Gary recently learned the importance of bragging about his Chamber because they are doing some great things. This is an episode that you will want to be sure to listen to.

Gary has been the President & CEO at the Amarillo Chamber since 1997 and during this time, they have built some great momentum, not only with their membership but in large part with their non-dues revenue events. Gary shared with us the top 4 non-dues revenue events that their Chamber hosts each year.

The top 4 non-dues revenue events are:

1. The Chamber Golf Tournament with 288 golfers.
2. Summer Celebrations/Fireworks Show.
3. Business Connection with over 380 business booths.
4. And the big one is their BBQ Social with over 7,000 people and 100 businesses participating with their cookers.

We spent a good amount of time talking about the BBQ Social because it is an awesome event. This even ranked #9 in the nation by the US Chamber for non-dues revenue events and has been implemented by several other Chambers.

The format for the BBQ Social is Tuesday is the set-up day. Wednesday is Team Night where each “Team” or participating business is able to invite their VIP guests to cook them a special dinner. This portion is by invitation only. Thursday is the big day where over 7,000 people show up from 5-8 pm to try all of the great food that is prepared. During this entire event, great relationships are formed and business deals are done all along the way. Gary was nice enough to invite me to come to their BBQ Social and to participate as a judge!

The Amarillo Chamber has a couple of other neat programs. One is called “Mayor Calls” where twice a month, Gary as the Chamber President & CEO gets together with their Mayor and the President & CEO of their Economic Development and they go out to visit businesses. They ask what their struggles are and how they can help. They have many success stories by going out to the businesses in their community.

The other program that Gary discussed is called “Buy the Way” which used to be “Shop Smart, Shot Local”. This program does just that, it encourages people to purchase local before the look to make online purchases. Before implementing “Buy the Way”, they were seeing the sales taxes trending in a negative way but they are now trending more positive.

One thing that stuck with me is a quote that Gary shared which is “You have to have the team to live the dream”.

If you would like to connect with Gary about anything that he discussed or about how to start your own BBQ Social, he can be reached by email at gary@amarillo-chamber.org or by phone at 806-342-2001.

If you have a need for a publisher for your next Chamber Directory or Map, please consider Community Matters, Inc. as a partner with their turnkey system, award winning quality, and great reputation.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Spotify

Jenna Armstrong, President & CEO of the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce was our guest this week as she shared her ideas about being inclusive and what she has done in the area of community outreach. One of the key messages that Jenna shared was a motto of sorts that their Chamber uses of “seek to provide value first” in everything that they do. This motto extends to businesses that are not members of the Chamber yet so they can experience what the Chamber can do for them.

The Lake Houston Area Chamber is focused on being an Information Central for their community since their trade area encompasses several municipalities. With so many different government agencies, it can be difficult to disseminate information to the community. The Chamber has taken on the role to broadcast information as they receive it from their various community partners. With recent storms and flooding, this idea of being an Information Central has become even more important.

Another way that her Chamber strives to be Information Central is by being a very business solutions focused Chamber to establish credibility and respect in the community. Businesses in a community typically will succeed or suffer together depending on the environment. The goal of the Chamber is to help all of the businesses succeed.

A key take away that Jenna shared with us was, for a Chamber to establish stronger community outreach and to strive to be an Information Central is to build partnerships with important people in your community that will share your social media posts that are of importance. These people may be elected officials or people from your school district, but they can become social ambassadors to help spread the important messages from the Chamber, especially with traditional media sources becoming less and less effective.

If you have any questions for Jenna about how she is doing things at the Lake Houston Area Chamber, she can be reached at jarmstrong@lakehouston.org or you can follow @LHAChamber on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have a need for a publisher for your next Chamber Directory or Map, please consider Community Matters, Inc. as a partner with their turnkey system, award winning quality, and great reputation.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Spotify

Kevin Hodes, Founder of Swypit came on the Chamber Chat Podcast to discuss how his credit card processing company is able to help your Chamber earn more non-dues revenue. Swypit offers a Chamber affinity program that works in multiple ways. You can find more details about this affinity program at chamberchatpodcast.com/cc where you can fill out a form to have Kevin and his team customize a program for you.

As a brief summary, Swypit can save most Chambers up to 40% on their credit card processing fees. Swypit will help to get their services integrated into your current set up and will even provide new equipment if needed. Kevin mentioned how many Chambers use Stripe or Square to take mobile payments at events that are off-site. These services, while convenient, have very high processing fees. Swypit has mobile processing solutions that will keep your costs low.

As your Chamber starts using Swypit, you will see that Kevin and his team provide great service so you can feel confident referring Swypit to your membership. Swypit can help your Chamber members become more profitable right away by providing a free cost savings analysis and can have them set up with Swypit services within 24-48 hours.

Your Chamber will earn 10% of the profits from the processing fees for each member that starts using Swypit. You will see that recurring non-dues revenue increases year after year as you continue to refer and promote Swypit. It is really a simple affinity program that requires little involvement from the Chamber but can provide large payouts as your Chamber’s relationship with Swypit matures. Revenue projections can be seen at chamberchatpodcast.com/cc. You can also see the video of the 3 things that Kevin hates about the credit card processing industry.

Be sure to Google Swypit and Google your current processor to see how they match up. After you compare, I am confident that you will want to “Get Swiping With Swypit”!

If you have a need for a publisher for your next Chamber Directory or Map, please consider Community Matters, Inc. as a partner with their turnkey system, award winning quality, and great reputation.