Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/11051
4A – Daily News – Wednesday, May 26, 2010 Commerce business BY KRISTIN M. BEHRENS Our mission: the Red Bluff Tehama County Chamber of Commerce is a membership organization which promotes the growth and prosperity of local business. In these challenging times, promoting growth let alone prosperity can be a daunting and challenging task. As the President of your Chamber of Com- merce I was recently reminded of the good spirit and great souls we have within our fold to reach out to, be inspired by and col- laborate with to continue and better yet renew our commitment to the mission of the Chamber of Com- merce. During our recent Strategic Advance, a vari- ety of representatives of our membership and board of directors and stakehold- ers revisited the Chamber’s mission and our purpose to ask the question, "What can we do to better serve our members and to encourage non members to join? Furthermore, what do we owe to ourselves and our stakeholders to better illustrate the work that we do, the value that we add and what improvements can we make to anchor support for the Chamber in the minds of our communi- ty stakeholders and most importantly our member- ship?" I was encouraged by the number of participants who donated a Saturday to the effort while discouraged by those who either never responded to our multiple attempts to reach them or those who for whatever reason confirmed atten- dance yet simply did not show up. But, as I believe and I am reminded, all things happen for a reason, and as it turned out we had the perfect group, the per- fect size and blend of inter- ested members ready to tackle the responsibility of gauging what our members are saying about us and, what they would like to see from us. Our advancement included a focus provided to us by a professional facilitator and Vice Presi- dent of the California Chamber of Commerce. Steve Snyder offered 5 common core competen- cies of Chambers of Com- merce: helping to create a stronger local economy, promoting the community, providing networking and referral opportunities, rep- resenting business interests with government, and pro- viding political action in candidate endorsements or ballot initiatives. In our discussions and analysis & the Red Bluf f Tehama County Chamber of Commerce touches on most of these core competencies, some more robust than others. It was our consensus that what the chamber needs most is concerted focus. The vision that kept coming to me was that of two hands, held separate from each other, all ten fin- gers stretched out as far as they can be from the other. That is our chamber today. Now imagine these hands coming together, softening and folding together, fin- gers intertwined. That is the vision we are headed toward. This vision trans- lates into four immediate core competencies as a result of our analysis which included benchmarking with other chambers. In no particular order, the first is Branding, assist- ing in the effort to find an identity that is recognizable to the outside world and supported by the communi- ty at large – this focus is in direct alignment with the results reported to us by Audrey Taylor of Chabin Associates during the Third Annual Seeds of Opportunity program as well as the Jeff Casey Tourism report. The enterprise Red Bluff Tehama County Chamber of Commerce’s strategic advance Chamber should be a lead organization in this effort. Communication – the chamber will make a plan to support better communi- cation among its members and with our stakeholders and the community at large. How can we show our value added if we can not tell our story effective- ly? Membership; more effectively serving our members, retaining our members and growing our membership will be key to our future success as we strive to strengthen our per- centage of funding from membership dues. And finally, Group Cohesion; seems as though there are similar, yet non-duplicated efforts happening through- out our area and yet, why is the Chamber not the umbrella organization to assist in the organization and resource development of these efforts? The Chamber must strengthen its role and value to better collaborate with those who work within their own objective. Moving forward we will continue to delve a little deeper with our members to find out more about how we can better serve them while we develop the plans and execution of the four initiatives mentioned above. These efforts will then fold nicely into our renewed business plan that will be shared in an engag- ing way that supports our role to promote the growth and prosperity of local business. Stay tuned! • Business Spotlight – Fountain of Health, 1415 Solano St. in Corning is a happening place and we want to let you know what they are doing in case you want to join them in the fun. Fountain of Health joined the Corning Chamber around the same time that they opened their doors in Sep- tember of 2009. They are a women’s fitness center with cir- cuit training, yoga, Kettle Bells, Zumba, line dancing, nutri- tion and as the co-owner, Patti Fountain said, "Last but not least, lasting friendships". They have 4 trainers and 3 special class instructors and as Patti says, "We are fun, fast and safe. We seem to have some- thing for everyone and continue to add new programs. A half hour goes by fast because it is fun and upbeat". Last month they held a self defense seminar that went very well. They have partnered with Edward Jones for a financial work-out Saturday July 17 at 11 a.m. Patti said that they listen to their clients to get feed-back as to what they want and there seems to be an interest in belly dancing, so right now they are looking for an experienced instructor. As Patti says, "We want to keep shaking it up so no ones ever gets bored". Patti’s boyfriend, Buzz Dicello is very supportive of what she is doing. She has 4 children, Angie, Casey, Paris and Stephanie as well as 2 grandchildren, Titan and Wylie. She enjoys music, books, biking, ocean kayaking and white water rafting. Partner, Lisa Johnson has been married to husband Larry for 27 years and they have two married sons. She loves the gym and says, "It isn’t work." She also enjoys "jeeping", 4- wheeling and the mountains. She looks forward to their first grandchild and enjoys family and friends. If you want to get into any of the programs stop by or call 689-0222. They are open 5:30 am to 7 pm. • Veteran’s Day Memorial Ceremony – You are invited to a ceremony honoring all veterans at 10 a.m., Monday, May 31st at the Corning cemetery. Following the ceremony there will be a barbecue at the Veterans Memorial Hall beginning at 11:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome. • Business Luncheon – The business luncheon at New Life Assembly will be cancelled for the summer and will resume in September. • 4th of July Heritage Days – The 2nd Annual 4th of July Heritage Days sponsored by the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce will once again have the drawing that will have a grand prize estimated to be $10,000 if all 300 tickets are sold. There are tickets for sale at the Corning Chamber of Commerce, 1110 Solano St. for $100. Estimat- ed payoff based on 300 tickets sold: 2nd Prize $1000, 3rd to 5th Prize $500, 6th & 7th Prize $250, 8th to 47th Prize $50. The proceeds from this drawing will go toward the 4th of July Fireworks Celebration held at the Tehama District Fair- grounds. You do not need to be present to win.