Full text of the State of the Chamber address
Following is the prepared text of the 2012 State of the Chamber report given by President and CEO Charles S. North to the general membership on Wednesday, January 18, 2012:
Members, distinguished guests, elected officials, friends and colleagues – good morning. My name is Charlie North, and for 15 years, I have had the distinct privilege to serve as the President and CEO of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is in its 105th year, making it one of the oldest and largest in our region, and I’m proud to say among one of the most effective as well. Our chamber is dynamic, active, cutting-edge, community focused, and in existence solely to help you and your business succeed. We have a saying at the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce: your business is our business. As you listen to me this morning, I want you to remember that. Your business is our business. We want to help you in any way we can, so please if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask myself or one of the staff members how we may be of service. Staff members wave your hands.
The people who just waved hello are a big part of the reason we’ve been so successful this past year after our consolidation with the Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber for the betterment of membership. At the Chamber, we’re a small but powerfully tight-knit group. My executive team, made up of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Audra Gerty and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Gloria Cukar, preside over our four departments of membership, communications, events and Workforce Development – each of the four working in cooperation to create a stronger home for business in Dutchess County. Membership is at your service, responding to your needs, visiting your storefront and helping to grow the organization. Communications is there to spread the word, to keep you updated about events and Chamber news, and to connect you and your business to fellow members through social media, our monthly Bottom Line newsletter, and more. All of the community-building philanthropic and networking opportunities we host throughout the year are because of our events department, and Workforce Development is tirelessly trying to create the best possible pool of job applicants – and then find employment opportunities for everyone in our community. All of those parts moving and working together in harmony create the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, which I’m proud to say was honored by The New York State Business Council as a Chamber of the Year in 2011!
Also under the Chamber’s umbrella is our not-for-profit educational arm, The Chamber Foundation, which last year awarded over $30,000 in scholarship money to local students, and through its flagship Leadership Dutchess and Youth Leadership programs continue to groom the next generation of leaders in the Hudson Valley. As its own corporation, the Foundation promotes education in our community, and is striving to keep our region strong for generations to come.
All of that, and myself included, are governed by that all-volunteer board of directors that Frank Castella introduced earlier, composed of local business owners from all different vocations. I thank all of them so much for their service.
We are, at our core, a membership organization. In 2011, the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce added hundreds of new members, making our Chamber now approximately 2,000 total members strong, and it is because of the depth and breadth of our membership that we are able to exist as a driving force for economic prosperity in the region. We couldn’t do it without you. We wouldn’t want to do it without you. We’d have no reason to do it without you. In 2012, we hope to grow even more and become even stronger, but as both our local and national economies continue to recover slowly, we need your help to achieve this goal. Every day our membership team is seeking out and meeting new business-owners who would benefit from the same Chamber services you all enjoy, but they can’t do it alone. I tell my staff that membership is everyone’s department, and today I’m asking you to make it part of yours as well. If you know of anyone that isn’t a member of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, stop in and tell them about all the great benefits you receive from membership. Our members have long been our strength, the reason we’re positioned for success in the coming year. I ask you all now to pitch in, and to keep the Chamber in mind during your day-to-day lives. Last year, the majority of our new member inquiries came from referrals, so your input does indeed make a difference!
I believe that perhaps the most important thing a chamber of commerce should be is an organization that helps its members make not only strong connections, but a lasting impression on fellow businesspeople and the community at large. At the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, we come to work every day with this goal in mind. During the 2011 calendar year, we hosted 12 Contact Breakfasts like this one, and also 12 more informal Business After Hours, and in all, over 2,500 people attended our breakfasts, and more than 1,500 stopped by our Business After Hours. That’s a lot of scrambled eggs and passed hors d’oeuvres, but more importantly, it’s a lot of networking!
The Contact Breakfast is and will remain our signature recurring event on the Chamber calendar. Last year, we managed to bring in dynamic keynote presenters ranging from local business leaders and elected officials to nationally recognized authors and international players, and we’ve already got an amazing start to 2012, with the military leaders from Stewart Airport attending next month, and new Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro taking the microphone in March. As always, our monthly Contact Breakfasts are not to be missed.
Also not to be missed are our Business After Hours events, at which members and their guests have the chance to loosen their ties and do some networking and socializing in a more relaxed atmosphere. A lot of business gets done this way, and we’re excited about the possibilities that will arise from a Business After Hours connection in 2012.
Now look, I know not everyone is a natural networker. For some people, it’s difficult to approach a stranger with a business card in hand and attempt to strike up a conversation. I get it. So we at the Chamber are dedicated to helping you develop the vital skill of networking throughout the year, and I hope all you take advantage of our training services when they pop up on the calendar.
I also hope that, should you have the need, you’ll take us up on our offer of healthcare coverage for our members. A lot of people don’t know this, but Chamber membership allows you the ability to enroll in healthcare programs with a variety of different choices at extremely affordable rates. If this is something that might be of interest for you and your business, please let us know as soon as possible, and we’ll forward information to you.
This year we’re hard at work putting together a comprehensive collection of business education events and seminars throughout the year. We have such a varied workforce here in Dutchess County and so many experts willing to share the tricks of their trade, that bringing members together to help and instruct other members is one of the best ways we make connections and build business through the Chamber.
When we talk about making connections, we’re not just talking about us providing you a forum to network. When you’re a member of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, we take it upon ourselves to help promote your business in any way possible. The premier promotional tool for the Chamber and your businesses in 2012 will continue to be our Bottom Line newsletter, which reaches over 50,000 people with every issue inserted into the Poughkeepsie Journal. This is the place for your business news to be reported, for your new shop to be highlighted, or to find out more about upcoming Chamber events.
But that’s hardly the only way the Chamber seeks to expose your business to the community at large. We’re constantly getting new followers on Twitter and adding to our 1,700 fans on Facebook, leading to hundreds of unique online impressions each day. That means that every time we make a Facebook post, around 500 people will see it – and in 2012, we’re going to be even more dedicated to making sure ALL of our members are benefitting from this exposure. The best way to get involved is to be active on Facebook yourself. Become a fan of our page, post news or a special promotion on our wall, or leave us a comment. The future is digital, and the Chamber is well positioned to be a local business leader in cyberspace. And don’t worry if you’re not as tech-savvy as you’d like to be…our newly-formed Business Education Committee is planning to continue our immensely popular social media workshops in 2012 so you can have all the knowledge you need to log on and communicate about your business.
Simply, the core mission of Chamber in 2012 will be much like the Chamber of the past 100 years: Attracting members, bringing those members together and promoting them to the best of our ability, knowing that success will follow, but the way that we accomplish those goals is ever-evolving. Boosting business in the current climate isn’t just about existing in our own small circle, it’s about getting out in the community, being proactive in reaching consumers, and the Chamber pledges to remain your steadfast ally in that as well.
Each year, the Chamber event calendar kicks off with our annual black tie Gala celebration. This year, we’re hosting “An All-American Affair,” paying homage to everything that Old Glory stands for. But more than just a chance to put on our best gowns and tuxedos, our Annual Gala allows us to honor some of those among us who are making a difference in our community. I’d be remiss if I didn’t get in a plug for our 2012 Gala…its coming Saturday, February 4 at The Grandview. This year our Past Chairs Committee selected a business as well as an individual to honor at the Gala, and this year we’re happy to present the Good Neighbor Award to our friends at LCS Facility Group for their commitment to helping make the Hudson River Valley a better place. And also to honor Carole Wolf of the Mill Street Loft with our Community Service Award. In addition, both the Porco Family from The Villa Borghese and Baright Family from Foam & Wash Car Wash will receive our Next Generation Award, presented to families who have passed down a successful business from generation to generation as selected by our Hudson Valley Young Professionals. Tickets for our Gala are available now, visit www.dcrcoc.org for more information! It’s going to be an extra-special event this year thanks to our tremendous sponsors.
And speaking of sponsors, if you look right on that screen over there as I’m talking, you can see all of the businesses and organizations that participated in the Chamber as a sponsor last year. These are people and organizations that not only tell you they Think Local First, but put their money where their mouth is. I’m so pleased that they decided to partner with us at the Chamber, and I am indebted to their faith in our mission. Thank you to all of our wonderful sponsors, I look forward to working with you again in 2012. I’m also excited to welcome in many new sponsors to the fold this year, including several small businesses. I understand that not everyone has the dollars to commit to sponsorship like many of the major organizations in the area, but the Chamber works hard to find affordable opportunities for our small business members so give us a call and let us tell you about what we can do!
Along with the Gala, we will host all of our signature events in 2012, including the balloon festival, Market Place trade show, Breakfast of Champions – everything that makes the Chamber calendar so special each year.
In 2011 we moved our Market Place to Fishkill, and that was just one example of how the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce strived to indeed encompass the whole of Dutchess County. That was a major goal last year, and remains a top priority going forward. I can’t stress this enough – we are the Chamber for ALL of Dutchess County, and we work extremely hard to make sure that we’re active in all corners of our community. If you think we’re falling short somewhere, please let me know and we’ll do everything we can to prove our commitment.
I want to take a moment now to point out the hard work that our 13 standing committees put in during the year to plan events of their own. Often more targeted towards a specific niche, some of the programs created, planned and executed by groups like the Hudson Valley Young Professionals and Women’s Leadership Alliance to name a few, are our best attended of the year, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with in 2012.
And one more thing about events, we can’t overlook the hard work of The Chamber Foundation in all that they do throughout the year. All of their hard work will culminate at our Scholarship Awards Breakfast, where we’ll not only recognize the best of our local student bodies, but also go in-depth about all that the Foundation does.
So far this morning we’ve talked about how our Chamber is organized, all the different ways we try to unite our membership and help them make connections as well as publicize their events and accomplishments, and touched on some of the great community events the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce holds throughout the year.
Now I want to take a moment and tell you about something we do every single day that perhaps you don’t know about, and that’s lobby our local, state and federal elected officials with the best interest of the Hudson Valley business community in mind.
Let me start with a story from this past year. By now, we all know of the fiscal audit and eventual partial repeal of the MTA Tax from last year – The Chamber is proud to have been out front on the issue of the unfair MTA Tax since the very beginning. Last spring we initiated a Call To Action on our website, essentially a petition demanding that the MTA tax be repealed, or at the very least, that the agency be audited. Anyone who submitted this petition would have their concern sent directly to all important parties, including Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, and all of our state senators and assemblymen in Albany. The result of this initiative was over 1,200 people standing in solidarity behind the goal of reforming the MTA and having our elected officials focus on the unfair tax on our region.
Now I would like to say that merely speaking up was enough, but it wasn’t. In the spring, I traveled north to Albany for a face-to-face meeting with Comptroller DiNapoli regarding the MTA Tax, calling on him to perform a forensic audit on the agency. I left the meeting satisfied, but action was slow to follow. We at the Chamber remained diligent at pressing our message with multiple letters and phone calls to our state comptroller and others over the next few months, an effort which eventually culminated in first an in-depth audit of the MTA, one which revealed hundreds of millions of dollars of waste, and later with the partial repeal of the MTA Tax, which will eliminate it for a large portion of our members and reduce it for the remainder. We at the Chamber will save about $3,000 because of the change, and with that money we hope to offer three additional $1,000 scholarships through The Chamber Foundation. I can only imagine what positive things your business will do with your surplus.
While we would like to be able to take full and sole credit for the changes in the MTA Tax, I alone am not that powerful…or naive. We were a strong part in a massive machine working with others hoping for change, I’m proud of the work that we did not only with the MTA Tax, but also our calls to action to President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, the speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader as well as Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, House representatives, Nan Hayworth, Chris Gibson and Maurice Hinchey regarding the Interest Assessment Surcharge on all payrolls in New York State to cover previously waived interest charges on a federal loan for New York State unemployment insurance. A special call to action to Federal and state elected officials to stop the price jump at the gas pump. It is proactive advocacy like that, that you can continue to expect from the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2012, on both the local state and national level. Just ask our friends at the Rhinebeck Area Chamber of Commerce how we assisted them in overcoming an obstacle that could negatively affect their business community,
So much of where the Chamber stands politically comes from the hard work of our Legislative Action Committee, and if being involved is something you think you and your business might benefit from, contacting us about joining the committee is a great place to start.
I want to make this clear: the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce is a business organization. We’re not Democrat, we’re not Republican. We’re a business organization with the size and strength to influence business policy in the Hudson Valley and state of New York. We do not endorse candidates and we don’t bend to the beliefs of any one party – however I promise you this…if there’s an issue that arises that either negatively impacts business in our region and hinders its ability to grow, we’ll speak out against it, same as we’ll speak out in favor of legislation that might make it easier for commerce. We don’t care which side of the aisle something comes from, we just care that business gets done as efficiently as possible, and everyone can share in prosperity.
This year, as our national political discourse heats up and again fractures us along the lines of party affiliation due to the harsh light of a Presidential election, our commitment to you, our members, is to listen and learn from you about the issues that you care about, and fight for them to the best of our ability. We’ve got the resources to do it, and with your help and support, I know we can continue to create positive change in our community.
Now when you all signed up for this breakfast, you were promised that we’d be announcing all of our new initiatives for the coming year, and it’s time to talk innovation, which is a huge theme for us at the Chamber in 2012. As such, we begin this year with a brand new identity. With the help of Molly Ahern at Full Deck Design, we’re proud to unveil now the new logo for the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce!
Along with our newly designed logo, I’m proud to officially announce the creation of a new website for The Chamber Foundation, Inc. In the coming months and years, The Chamber Foundation is taking more autonomy, and having their own proprietary website is the first step. Please make sure to visit www.ChamberFDN.org for everything Foundation.
A lot of what the future holds for the Chamber revolves around technology and social media, and what I’m about to unveil to you intersects the old school with the new. This helps us achieve many goals – not the least of which is a strong commitment to going green. In 2012, the Chamber is making every effort to reduce our environmental impact in ways large and small. You might notice you don’t have a printed program for this breakfast, and coming later in the calendar, you’ll see our annual Guide to Government appearing online instead of in print. Hopefully your business will implement some green practices of our own this year. If you need help figuring out where to start, our Green Life Committee is available for guidance.
At the Chamber, we do a lot of ribbon cuttings. Over 100 last year alone. That’s a good thing; that means that business is growing, starting, expanding, and we love that. But for a lot of businesses or organizations, a traditional ribbon cutting a photo op just wasn’t cutting it in terms of exposure or value. So we at the Chamber put our heads together and have created an exciting new option for all members hoping to cut a ribbon with us in the future – Online Ribbon Cuttings, our third innovation this year.
That’s right, we’re taking our traditional ribbon cutting onto the Internet, where it can be shared by many, reach thousands, and exist forever. Now by no means are we eliminating traditional ribbon cuttings – but this new Online option is an exciting new choice for organizations. Let me tell you about it, maybe it’s for you.
An Online Ribbon Cutting is a multimedia presentation about your business or organization. When you schedule one, we’ll pick a mutually agreeable time for our staff photographer to head out to your location and complete a photo essay – shots of your business location, people working, your staff supporting Think Local First, things of that nature. Then I’ll record my thoughts about having your business in our community, and the whole package will be attractively edited together and put on our new Ribbon Cutting web page for all to see, along with a brief description of your business and all important contact information. The links to everything will be yours – you can post them on Facebook, your own web page, whatever you like. Even play the video in your shop. We recently completed an Online Ribbon Cutting for the Hudson Valley Ski Club – take a look!
We’re scheduling Online Ribbon Cuttings starting this afternoon. If you think this is something you’re interested in, give us a call as soon as possible and we’ll get you all the information that you need to make an informed decision about whether or not an Online Ribbon Cutting is indeed right for you. And since this is a new initiative, we’re always open to feedback about how we can best serve our membership and generate as much publicity as possible for them when it comes to their important milestones, so please, don’t be shy about getting in touch with your ideas.
Another major area of focus for the Chamber in 2012, much like in the Presidential race and throughout the country, is jobs, jobs, jobs. What can we do to help train our workforce and create jobs? Well, at the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, we have a dedicated Workforce Development team, and that team is growing. We’re excited to announce our fourth major addition, that we’ve recently been awarded a contract from the from Department of Social Services to work alongside longtime friend of the Chamber Bob Allers, who we’ve had a strong partnership with since 1996, to implement The Step Up program, funded in part by the County of Dutchess, that officially began two weeks ago and offers local employers the opportunity to hire trained individuals and to receive a wage subsidy for a period of time. The wage subsidy agreement is based on the technical aspects of the job, skills required and various other factors – this is a tremendous new program that we’re ecstatic to offer in 2012. For more information about it, contact Mercy, our new Director of The Step-Up Program.
By finding every able-bodied citizen a job to fit their qualifications, we can ease the burden on our society and its economy in so many ways. This is the mission of our newly reorganized Career Connections for Professionals committee, which will continue be a great resource for local businesses and citizens going through a job transition this year. Are you hiring? Then let us know. Perhaps we’ve got just the candidate to meet your needs, but if not, we can reach out to our vast network and try to find a match. Just another way that the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce plans to help us all make connections and improve our business in the coming year.
Now finally, for our fifth and final new initiative, let’s get to the really good stuff…saving money. I’m yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like getting a good deal, and today it’s my pleasure to reintroduce to you a whole bunch of good deals! The Chamber has included a SmartCard with membership for years now, but unfortunately, not too many of you have been using it. No more! In 2012, every Chamber member is going to be using his or her SmartCard! Today when you leave, you’ll be handed a brand new card to stick in your wallet. Show this card at participating Chamber members and receive a discount, just for being part of the Chamber yourself. It’s that simple! Maybe you’ll get 10 percent off a car repair bill, or a free drink with your sandwich at lunch, there’s a whole host of valuable deals to be had. Go to our website at dcrcoc.org and see who’s participating and what kind of money you can be saving.
And the best part is, we want this SmartCard in as many hands as possible, so we have quite the broad definition of member. If you’re a Chamber member or you work for a Chamber member, you can have a SmartCard. In the coming weeks, my staff and I will be getting in touch with information about how you can get mass quantities of SmartCards, and we’re soon going to be updating our online SmartCard database to make it user-friendlier. But in the meantime, start using your SmartCard, start educating your employees about it, and let’s keep supporting fellow members of the Chamber!
And don’t forget, we’re always looking for our members to submit a discount to fellow members. If you want to participate in our SmartCard program in that way, please get in touch with membership as soon as possible so we can begin promoting your business.
I hope you’re as excited about the Chamber’s new logo, new Foundation logo and website, new Workforce Development program, Online Ribbon Cuttings, and our revamped SmartCard program as I am. I truly believe that coupled with all we’ve done in the past, these five things will help ensure that 2012 is sure to the best Chamber year yet!
My name is Charlie North, I’m the President and CEO of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, and I hope today that you see why we consider ourselves at the Chamber to be innovative, adaptable, communicative and tireless, and we’re going to try our best to exceed your expectations in all four categories in the coming months. As you all continue to navigate an uncertain economy and bridge the divide between the traditional and new-normal way of doing business, it is my distinct pleasure to count you all among the members of the organization we all benefit from in so many ways.
I want you all to know what we’re here for you. Whatever you may need, whenever you and your business may need it, if there’s a way we can help, we’re available, but you need to let us know. Tell us if you have an event coming up. Tell us you need help creating a new website for your business. Tell us you want to throw a grand opening celebration but don’t know where to start. Tell us you’re looking to hire more staff members. Tell us your successes, tell us your failures, and tell us how we can help you. I promise that there is no task too large or too small. We value your input…we thrive on your input. If we all band together, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish individually and as a community. There is strength in numbers, and together it is my sincere hope that all of us with association in the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce will find happiness and prosperity in 2012.
Happy New Year friends, and please, continue to Think Local First. Thank you.
