LETTER FROM THE 2006-2007 CHAIR OF THE ALBERT LEA/FREEBORN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

September 2007

Exactly one year ago, I started my term as Chair of the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors with a simple theme: “Promote, Promote, Promote!” I felt it was important to focus the efforts of our organization towards promoting the strength of our business community not only within our Chamber area, but also outside of our community. I am happy to report that we have made great progress in this area. Thank you to the wonderful Chamber staff that continuously make our success possible – Katie, Liz, Marcie and Tami – your energy is contagious. Also, I have had the opportunity to work with two very positive and energetic Executive Directors, Susie Petersen and Randy Kehr. Thank you!

The theme of this year’s Membership Celebration, “Raising our Community Profile” is the culmination of this year-long effort to focus the resources of your Chamber towards this goal. Without the tremendous support of our members, our organization would quickly fail. Rest assured that we value every member when they renew their annual dues and otherwise support our programs. We have worked hard in recent years to maximize your dues and to find other revenue sources.

As a result of these efforts, we are proud to announce that membership dues for the 2007 – 2008 year will not increase. This is the first time in many years we have been able to accomplish this goal. We do, however, continue to count on our members to support our programs and to help us to grow our membership roles. Not all local businesses recognize the importance of being a Chamber member, please help us to explain this to them to continue to expand our membership and our ability to promote the community.

I often hear the community nay-sayers comment that the Chamber is boring and doesn’t do anything for the community. I’m not sure where they have been in recent years, but they apparently have not been paying attention. The Chamber has successfully kept our community active by promoting the following: the Positive People program, the Gourmet Auction, the Farm Family of the year award, 3rd Grade Farm Tours, the 4-H Livestock Auction, the 3rd of July Parade, the Party for the Lakes, Eddie Cochrane Days, Career Day and the Annual Fireworks. Likewise, we are proud of our renewed partnership with the Big Island Rendezvous, which had a record-breaking year. I challenge any organization to try to beat the quality and quantity of these “community pride” activities. Our business community deserves kudos for their continued support of the quality of life in our area.

As for our programs, our long-time Housing Committee “graduated” this year and became independent of the Chamber and is now supported by the Albert Lea Housing Authority. Our long-time support of affordable housing in Albert Lea has paid huge dividends in addressing this important economic development issue. As always, the Chamber Ambassadors and the Chamber Lake’s Restoration Committee continue to host one quality event after another. Take the time to thank these volunteers for their hard work. Also, the Government Affairs committee hosted two legislative forums, the last one in July with three of the four State Legislative leaders in attendance and our greatest turn-out yet for a legislative forum.

To promote our community, it is important that we find ways to differentiate ourselves from others. We successfully promoted this concept by hosting another record breaking event in April of this year – “Celebrating our Green Community.” With the support of our Agriculture Committee, we rolled out the green carpet for over 400 guests from around the State for our Annual Agriculture Banquet, with Governor Tim Pawlenty as the keynote speaker.

The strength of our organization and our community depends on new energy and new ideas. In an effort to continue to develop future leaders, the Chamber has partnered with Riverland Community College to create our new “Leadership” program. Our inaugural class of 20 is currently completing their curriculum.

As a community, it is important that we promote a positive feeling inside and outside our community. In accomplishing this goal, we should strive to make our community more welcoming to families and minorities. We must have an available workforce for expanding or attracting employers. We must also foster a strong relationship with our local media and find a way to promote ourselves through media outlets outside of our community. Our business community is the key to setting the tone for community success. The Chamber is the catalyst to make this to happen. Together, we can continue to promote our community and “Raise our Community Profile.”