from the desk of Tom Martin, Board Chair, Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce (GRCC)...
You may or not read the blog written by Bob Yoder. Today he claimed that as board chair, I said the chamber would be closing its doors by end of year.
This is not the case. I want to take this opportunity to say he has misinterpreted a presentation that was made to the Redmond city council on August 30. At that presentation, I along with Dan Agellar from the Realize Redmond foundation, Bill Biggs from the Redmond Economic Development Alliance spoke about our united effort to make Redmond a great place to live, work and play. Read More >>
The initiative, which we have discussed at the Board Meetings is called One Redmond, focuses on a joint vision for Redmond, exploring the opportunities for economic development, cultural and recreational expansion and generally expanding the vibrancy of Redmond. Through REDA, a consultant was hired to evaluate the vision and the viability for fundraising through a series of about 60 interviews with business and civic leaders in Redmond.
At the Council meeting we expressed our support of the vision and the role each of our respective organizations will play.
One of the recommendations coming from the consultant is that we consider combining with Economic Development and potentially One Redmond in order to best be positioned to achieve the critical mass to achieve the vision. It is in this combination, that Mr. Yoder misinterpreted the future of the chamber. As we move to our retreat in October, we will be having an important discussion about our future as a Chamber, how we remain viable, relevant and continue to provide the services valued by our members. These are decisions we make as a board. I look forward to this conversation.
The Board of the Redmond Chamber is committed to providing the advocacy and networking opportunities that our members value. We believe there Is a place for those services and want to promote them. To that end, we are having a membership drive at the end of the month re-energize our membership with new businesses. If you have a colleague who is not a member, and should be, let the chamber staff know so we can give them a call.”
By Tom Martin
Published in the GRCC Newsletter, September Edition
I'll follow-up. Stay tuned.
B.Y.
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| Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce |
from the desk of Tom Martin, Board Chair, Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce (GRCC)...
You may or not read the blog written by Bob Yoder. Today he claimed that as board chair, I said the chamber would be closing its doors by end of year.
This is not the case. I want to take this opportunity to say he has misinterpreted a presentation that was made to the Redmond city council on August 30. At that presentation, I along with Dan Agellar from the Realize Redmond foundation, Bill Biggs from the Redmond Economic Development Alliance spoke about our united effort to make Redmond a great place to live, work and play. Read More >>
The initiative, which we have discussed at the Board Meetings is called One Redmond, focuses on a joint vision for Redmond, exploring the opportunities for economic development, cultural and recreational expansion and generally expanding the vibrancy of Redmond. Through REDA, a consultant was hired to evaluate the vision and the viability for fundraising through a series of about 60 interviews with business and civic leaders in Redmond.
At the Council meeting we expressed our support of the vision and the role each of our respective organizations will play.
One of the recommendations coming from the consultant is that we consider combining with Economic Development and potentially One Redmond in order to best be positioned to achieve the critical mass to achieve the vision. It is in this combination, that Mr. Yoder misinterpreted the future of the chamber. As we move to our retreat in October, we will be having an important discussion about our future as a Chamber, how we remain viable, relevant and continue to provide the services valued by our members. These are decisions we make as a board. I look forward to this conversation.
The Board of the Redmond Chamber is committed to providing the advocacy and networking opportunities that our members value. We believe there Is a place for those services and want to promote them. To that end, we are having a membership drive at the end of the month re-energize our membership with new businesses. If you have a colleague who is not a member, and should be, let the chamber staff know so we can give them a call.”
By Tom Martin
Published in the GRCC Newsletter, September Edition
I'll follow-up. Stay tuned.
B.Y.
With hindsight, I admit to misinterpreting the “One Redmond” study session with city council on August 30. My error was assuming that the Chamber’s "consolidation" meant merger -- not strengthening or positioning. What's important is we ALL support the vision of One Redmond...and not let misunderstandings block us.
ReplyDelete“Consolidation,” a loose term with broad meaning, was used unsparingly throughout the One Redmond discussion. Statements by Martin, Carson, and Marchione and Vache' led me to believe a Merger between REDA and the Chamber was at hand. I’ll admit, it was a leap.
Mr. Martin agreed to “consolidation” and coordinated fund raising at the council meeting. Carson blurted, “250 Chambers went under in the last four years.” Martin responded with a reference to a successful CHAMBER-EDA merger in Snohomish. Then, there was the mayor’s urgency for October action. Councilmember Pat Vache’ ended the meeting,saying "it’s the Community that’s asking for consolidation.” Vache’ is a Director for the Chamber and REDA, and Council Vice President.
Their comments strengthened my opinion a merger or consolidation was in the offing --possibly after October - perhaps by year-end.
Yes, this was a Leap. But, it was my opinion. Mr. Martin alerted me; and I updated my blog.
Mr. Martin explained his intentions, writing: “Creation of new services to augment what we already do under a revised organization is the likely scenario.”
My hand goes out to Mr. Martin and his leadership.