Tuesday, November 4, 2014

During the month of October we began quietly rolling out our Community Impact Partnership. It's a new twist on Chamber involvement - in fact, it's a new twist on everything. Recognizing the changing needs of businesses, we know that mission alignment and ROI are critical for investment. And now that we've firmly established the Chamber as a problem-solving advocate in Chico and successfully re-tooled economic development through collaborative work like TeamChico, we're able to bring more value to our business community and to our members.

We're maintaining standard membership, of course, to foster the business-to-business connections that drive commerce in our town, but we're adding new levels of partnership to support our advocacy and economic development programs. By growing our capacity in these areas and involving business owners like you through partnership and participation, our "voice of business" will continue to strengthen and increase our positive impact on our economy and community. Call me personally for an early overview: 891.5556 x 303.

Speaking of solutions, we're working with the City Council and Airport Commission on commercial airline attraction and feasibility, alternative transportation, and bringing a dedicated airport manager aboard to oversee and develop the economic footprint of the Chico Airport. On November 14th, we'll be rolling out a Community Travel Survey to assess travel needs in the community, and we'll be launching an Executive Business Survey to understand the level of support in the business community for the creation of a proposed travel bank which is needed to incentivize an airline. Please take a moment to participate in these surveys when they are released and/or send your thoughts to me now: katie@chicochamber.com.

As I write this note to you, the results of the election are still a few days away. While the outcome is uncertain, I remain confident in the public/private partnerships we've created with the City and in the relationships we've built with and on behalf of our members. When we share common goals, it's easy to get work done, like the alarm ordinance we revised with the Chico PD that was recently approved by the City Council. The Chamber is well over a century old, so we have the momentum and vision to carry our purpose forward through political, economic, and municipal ups and downs. Your support of our mission makes all of this - and so much more - possible.