Chamber board looks forward to improved organization in coming year

Annual meeting held last week

By Charles O’Neill
Harbor Light Newspaper

Focused on the future and its recently updated internet website, the Harbor Springs Chamber of Commerce board of directors told its members that the success of the organization, and ultimately, the business community here,depended upon involvement, volunteering and recruiting more members, more visitors and more attendees at Chamber events.

The occasion was the Chamber’s annual meeting, held Thursday, Dec. 4, this year at Stafford’s Pier Restaurant, where outgoing Chamber president Jody Ewbank oversees operations.

The usual kudos to incoming and outgoing board members, volunteers and committee chairs were interspersed with some rather direct comments about the community business challenges ahead.

Board treasurer Matt Clarke did report that the Chamber is holding its own financially. Finally budget for 2009 was to be completed this past week, he said, and the last two to three years have seen a “big improvement on profitability.”

He credited volunteers with helping to reduce costs and said event management has been run quite well.

“In terms of our savings, we are in pretty good shape. We have a fair amount of money set aside to hire the director we want in 2009,” Clarke said.

Outgoing board president Ewbank said the past year has been one of internal evaluation and investigation.

“We have looked inward at the structure and accountability of the board,” she said. “We have only tackled a minute portion of the opportunities that are available to this Chamber, I believe.”

“We have a lot of work to do….And I urge this next board to put members needs at the pinnacle” of the organizational chart, Ewbank said in prepared remarks.

“I look forward to more positive change.”

Ewbank told the gathered group that the past year saw the board “dig in and reshape the organization” to help address what she said was “years of neglect that have taken a toll on this organization…. We have worked hard to fix the mismanagement.”

Ewbank called on the Chamber membership to take “active, vocal and visible participation” in the organization and its efforts.

The Harbor Springs Chamber of Commerce counts 379 active member businesses, board members reported last week. Carolyn Sutherland, currently chair of the Chamber’s Membership Committee, said they had added some 34 new members recently, more than the last four years combined.

“I am hearing a very positive response to the things we are doing,” Sutherland told the annual meeting attendees.

Sutherland’s daughter, Ami Woods, was contracted and paid by the Chamber this year to act as a marketing consultant and led the effort to redesign the Chamber internet web site, and was complimented for her work at the annual meeting by Chamber board president Jody Ewbank. She directed Gaslight Media of Petoskey in the effort following “a public proposal process,” according to a document handed out at the annual meeting last week.

Chamber Marketing Committee chair Sandy Koehler also highlighted the website as key to the Chamber’s efforts this past year.

“We have gotten good response to the website and we hope that it will help pay for itself, at least in part, as we go forward,” Koehler said.

“It has been a very difficult year,” she added. “We have come a long way. We are a more polished, organized organization and I look forward to putting a fresh face on this organization as we go forward.”

Harbor Springs Business Committee chair Josh Baker told attendees that he is eager to reinvigorate efforts to draw business to Harbor Springs.

“Our annual Open House last night (Dec. 3) was very successful. The numbers were lower, but the people were good customers.”

Baker said surveys had been sent out earlier this fall and results were to be evaluated in coming weeks. Among other efforts, he said things like a “Mens Night” throughout town were being planned to try and coordinate retail efforts.

Harbor Springs Chamber members also heard reports from Northern Lakes Economic Alliance director Andy Hayes and Peter Fitzsimmons, director of the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau.

Hayes noted that he has been consulting with the Harbor Springs Chamber board in an effort to provide organizational integrity in the lead up to hiring a new director in 2009.

Incoming board president Gregg Garver, Harbor Springs community president at First Community Bank, introduced new board members Sue McGlaughlin (owner of Toski- Sands Market and Wine Shop with her husband Keith) and Linda Sheppard (a registered nurse with Northern Michigan Hospital).

For more information, visit the Harbor Springs Chamber of Commerce website at www.harborspringschamber.com or contact the Chamber offices at 526-7999.

This is part of the December 10, 2008 online edition of Harbor Light Newspaper.

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