Back to the Future....Leadership, Community, Partnership

The greater Keene business community and our community at large have a bright future, building on a foundation of success. The Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce acts every day on its vision of being the vital link to a better community - we bring together people, businesses and organizations. We have a committed and knowledgeable board of directors and staff. The strength of the Chamber, though, is our membership. It is especially important to celebrate on an annual basis our past accomplishments and our plans for the year ahead.

In its second year, the Business-to-Business (B2B) committee will continue delivering valuable services to our nearly 500 members. Breakfast forums will be held on a bi-monthly basis beginning with Dennis Delay's economic update on Wednesday, January 24. This year's Business Expo will be held in May, on the theme of Managing Your Business. We will continue to provide low cost, quality educational training and development workshops to expand the horizons of our employees. The most exciting and ambitious undertaking for the Chamber's B2B committee will be the sponsoring of a series of forums for presidential candidates to talk about issues of interest to the greater Keene business community. This effort will need many volunteers, so contact committee chair Tom Minkler or the Chamber office to lend your time and talent.

To be effective, the Chamber needs to attend to its business routinely - ensuring that Chamber revenue raised through dues, events, and service fees is adequate to carry out our programs. Because the work of the Workforce and Commerce Coordinators is integral to the Chamber, we folded those costs into the Chamber's base budget and developed an initial funding strategy. The board accepted with gratitude, and as a sign of confidence, the generous voluntary supplemental dues provided by a number of our members. The finance committee, under the direction of Treasurer Lynn Rust, will work to ensure the long-term financial well-being of the Chamber. 

We have created a Public Relations (PR) committee. PR will inform the community about the activities, opportunities, and services offered by the Chamber, and provide recognition to our supporters and event sponsors. Suzanne Stevens and her team will springboard their PR efforts from the foundational work of Geof Molina's Publications/Web site Committee. Look for more consistent and more convenient ways to stay abreast of Chamber programs. Geof and his committee won't rest on their laurels - they'll continue to add to the functionality and attractiveness of the Chamber's website and to produce publications such as the Keene & Cheshire County PROFILE and Keene & Cheshire County map.

The Travel and Tourism committee, led by John Baybutt, will promote activities and events that draw people to our city, or out of their homes, to enjoy what we have to offer and to patronize our local businesses. The Annual Raffle & Social, Golf Tournament, Annual Dinner, membership services, Business After Hours, downtown merchants' promotions - these GKCC activities require effort and commitment and will be first rate again this year.

Build on the success of our community! Add your voice, your energy, and your participation - support the Chamber in our work on behalf of this vital community. I am confident that you and the Chamber will have a terrific year.

Karen P. House

Board Chair 2006-2007