Chair of Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce updates community on "One Redmond"

“One Redmond” FAQ's - edition #1
   -By Bob Hale, Meagan Walker and Andrea Lachmann
    April, 2012, Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce Newsletter

Andrea Lachmann, Chair GRCC

Andrea Lachmann, the Chair of the Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) board of trustees, has had a voice and a seat at the One Redmond table.  As promised in last month’s Chamber Newsletter Andrea is committed to updating the membership on the latest and greatest One Redmond news:

Q:  What is One Redmond and how did the idea come about? 

Lachmann: The concept grew out of the awareness that there were three organizations working on behalf of Redmond residents, employees, and businesses to help improve the social and economic landscape of our community.

• Our focus at the Chamber is on helping the businesses to prosper.
• The Redmond Economic Development Alliance was established to recruit and retain new industries 
• Realize Redmond is dedicated to supporting community projects, programs and special events.

We were finding that not only did many of our objectives overlap, but we were also competing for some of the same financial resources. We decided that it was worth pursuing the idea of consolidating our efforts and resources.

Q: What is the vision for One Redmond?  Read More >>
Lachmann:  One Redmond is a community driven, highly visible public private partnership.  One Redmond is recognized for its leadership in the development of strategies, programs, and community events. One Redmond assures economic and social vitality are intentionally happening sustainably in Redmond.

Q: Who is representing the interests of the chamber and small businesses as the overall concept takes shape?

Lachmann: At its annual retreat in October 2011 the chamber’s board of trustees voted unanimously to consolidate with the other organizations. Ryan Baumgartner of Cashman Consulting & Investments, Tom Martin of Evergreen Hospital Medical Center and I (Andrea Lachmann of PS Business Parks) were appointed.to represent the chamber and its the development of One Redmond.  Our responsibility, is to advocate for our members with a clear and unified voice.

Q: What is the timeline for One Redmond being fully developed?

Lachmann: At the moment, we are working out details like the governance structure. After that, we’ll start
tackling decisions like incorporation, board recruitment,and service definition. We have targeted early summer for the 1st board meeting.

Q: Within the scope of One Redmond, what will happen to the chamber of commerce and the functions and services it has provided for so many years? Will the overall structure and functionality of the chamber undergo any dramatic change(s)?

Lachmann: Changes to the programs, services and other benefits we provide our members, such as networking events, advocacy for our members at the city, county and state levels, member discounts and referrals, should be few and subtle. The specifics of how some chamber functions may change under the One Redmond model are still being defined. On behalf of its members, however, the chamber is committed to providing a seamless transition.  We firmly believe the One Redmond model will allow us to enhance our existing benefits while creating still more opportunities and collaborations within the business community.

Q: Where can chamber members – and the community-at-large, for that matter -- go to receive more
information?

Lachmann: The chamber will post these answers along with additional frequently asked questions to its web site and update the content as information becomes available. We will have this link on our home page.

Andrea Lachmann is the Chair of The Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce and the leasing director for PS Business Parks, whose client base is comprised of small regional businesses.

Edited.