Our 3rd interview in our 2020 ACCE Chamber of the Year Finalist Series is with Norma Lansing from the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce in Illinois. The Effingham County Chamber was also a Chamber of the Year Finalist in 2019. You can listen to the interview with Norma last year at chamberchatpodcast.com/episode34. In this year’s interview, the main areas that we covered were the highlights of their synopsis that were submitted with their Chamber of the Year application, what makes the Effingham County Chamber stand out, their plans on how to lead through the recovery from COVID-19, and words of advice for other Chamber Champions to improve their own Chamber.
Norma covered two highlights from their Chamber of the Year synopsis. The first program that she addressed was their Regional Incubator Network that includes the first shared workspace in their area. The second program that she highlighted has to do with their manufacturing day where students from the areas 13 high schools each get to visit 2 manufacturing sites of their interest to learn about career opportunities in the area after graduation.
When Norma talked about what makes the Effingham County Chamber stand out, she focused her remarks on their member care program which has held their membership retention above 90% for many years and features a 3-year onboarding process for new members.
The Effingham County Chamber plans to lead through the recovery from the economic impact of COVID-19 by pivoting to more virtual events. They are also going to have a focus to highlight businesses that are reopening by providing information and in some cases coupons to attract customers. The Chamber will continue to assist with informing their business community about grant applications as well.
As Norma shared her piece of advice for the Chamber Champions listening, she encourages you to be involved with your state chamber associations as well as ACCE and to follow leaders in the industry who provide valuable information like Frank Kenny, Cathi Hight, Kyle Sexton, and the Chamber Chat Podcast.
If you would like to connect with Norma, she can be reached below:
Phone: 217-342-4147
Email: nlansing@effinghamcountychamber.com
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