A Podcast for Chamber Professionals Posts

Tony Felker is the leader of the Frisco Chamber of Commerce as their President & CEO for the past 10 years. Frisco, TX is a very fast growing and cutting edge community. Because of the speed of change in Frisco, Tony and his team must always be looking into the future. In this episode, Tony shares some great points of view and examples of how a Chamber today can stay relevant and show their worth to their members and community. Some of the highlights are:

Move away from ribbon cuttings and mixers to more proactive and reactive advocacy. Move from a sales culture to a service culture.

“Be a thermostat, not a thermometer!”

Find ways to measure the engagement of your membership. He talks about a “green highlighter exercise” that allows you to pick out the members that may need some more attention to help them engage with the Chamber.

“Be a Chamber that solves problems” (K.A.P.S.).

Learn from other Chambers (R&D).

Tony is also a host on an internet radio program that the Frisco Chamber produces called Frisco On Top of the World.

“Don’t be your grandfathers Chamber, your fathers Chamber, or even today’s Chamber. You must look ahead to be tomorrow’s Chamber.”

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.

Bruce Hillegeist is the energetic and very likable President and CEO of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce in the Northwest Houston area. In this episode of the Chamber Chat Podcast, Bruce shares his passion for Chamber leadership as he talks about various tips and strategies that have helped him to become the well respected and loved leader that he is.

Some of the main take aways from this episode are some phrases that Bruce firmly believes in.

“Chase the relationship, not the money.”

“We are better together.”

“See challenges as opportunity.”

“We (the Chamber) do what most people think just happens.”

“We will never know enough.”

Bruce has a genuine care for his staff, their Chamber members, and his community as a whole. As you listen, you will feel of his love and passion for the Greater Tomball Community.

If you would like to contact Bruce about anything that was shared in this episode, he can be reached by email at bruceh@tomballchamber.org or on his cell phone at 281-782-1408.

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.

In this episode of the Chamber Chat Podcast, I visit with Becki Womble, President and CEO at the Bastrop Chamber of Commerce about building relationships with community partners. As you listen, you will notice the passion that Becki has for building strong relationships. She mentions how her job at the Chamber is to be the point of introduction for her members to these community partners. Doing so, helps to give their Chamber members a voice in the community. We also discussed how important it is for Chambers to be approachable by their members and how to be approachable.

One tip that Becki shared was a piece of advice that she was given to join the local Chamber of Commerce for cities that you visit, even if for just a one year membership. This idea has lead to her being able to see how other Chamber’s do things.

Becki shared a story of her spray painting graffiti on a billboard in Bastrop. You can see the YouTube video of this below.

I will also share a video that Becki referenced about how Bastrop was placed 2nd place in season 3 of the Small Business Revolution show.

If you would like to contact Becki about anything that was shared in this episode, she can be reached by email at bwomble@bastropchamber.com or on her cell phone at 512-925-5531.

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.

In this week’s episode, we have our first interview for the podcast. We are happy to welcome Page Michel to she show. Page is the President & CEO of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce in Brenham, TX.

Page shares with us her insight and pros and cons of the membership models of “Fair Share” vs. “Tiered Dues”. She explains how her chamber made the change to the Tiered Dues model.

Some of the resources discussed in this episode are membership packet that they use at the Washington County Chamber to show the benefits of each level. Also, the contact information for Cathi Hight who is the consultant that Page used to help walk their Chamber through the transition.

Cathi Hight – Hight Performance Group – 512-354-7219

If you have questions for Page or the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, you can reach out to them at info@brenhamtexas.com.

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.

In this first episode, you will get an overview of what the Chamber Chat Podcast is all about and you will get to know the host, Brandon Burton.

Click here for the full show notes for Episode 1.