Monthly Piece Published in the Reading Eagle - May 2023

On May 10 over 100 TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce Members attended our Membership Breakfast.

This Breakfast was complimentary, and the Membership was invited to be the guests of our TriCounty Chamber Board of Directors. In January, February, and March, the Chamber Board spent one half day per month together participating in strategic work sessions to review who we currently are as a membership-based business advocacy organization, brainstorm on what we could be, and develop a plan on how to get there.

There were 5 key areas that the Board conversation kept coming back to:

Several Members of the Board of Directors attended the Breakfast and took a role in introducing and sharing details for each of the key areas that became consistent themes throughout the conversations that took place during the work sessions.

Recommendations for growing the membership included providing existing Members with the tools to invite their own contacts to become involved in the organization. In addition, the Board discussed, and we will research and pursue partnerships that offer benefit to our Members that we cannot easily provide alone.

It was also very apparent that through our conversations that everyone recognizes the necessary engagement of young professionals for the sustainability of an organization like ours. We were excited to share that we had already reconvened our Young Professionals Committee and relaunched the program. The Committee continues to meet and has events planned for the next few months.

To aid Members in how to better engage and squeeze every ounce of value out of their Membership, all attendees walked out of the Breakfast with a full folder highlighting upcoming events, and details of other Member benefits and how to use those benefits. It was a perfect opportunity for Members to receive a mini orientation and determine what engagement can look like for them. To follow up on the mini-orientation that was provided, an easy check-off style, online survey that listed all topics covered, was distributed linked in an email so Members in attendance could easily request additional information on Member benefits of interest to them.

As a non-profit organization that tries every day to run itself like a small business, diversifying and finding new resources for non-dues revenue is crucial to our future. We look forward to being able to announce some new initiatives that we are researching and will announce to the Membership soon!

Finally, it was our opportunity to share with the Membership that we set a new value proposition – “the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce is your strategic business connector. We provide each Member with the Resources, Relationships, and Recognition to help grow your business and maintain our region’s economic vibrancy and resiliency.” We chose to re-identify the cornerstones that we use to define the events, programs, and Member benefits that we offer. During the work sessions the Board was asked why they are Members of the TriCounty Chamber and where they find value in being a Member. In various ways, with various terms, the Resource, Relationship, and Recognition were at the heart of what each board Member valued in their TriCounty Chamber Membership.

The Board of Directors and staff are excited about new programs to brainstorm to fit the priorities that the Board has put in place for the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce for 2023-2024 and the opportunities that we will be able to create for our Membership.