2017 Chairman of the Board
Jeffrey S. Hurd
Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, P.C.
Community Businesses: Stronger Together
Looking back on what the Chamber has accomplished during the first half of 2017, one thing is abundantly clear: our business community is stronger TOGETHER. The Chamber—and indeed the broader business community in our area—are overwhelmingly composed of locally owned small businesses. Our business owners are justifiably proud of what they have built through their own dedication and hard work. And yet one small business cannot by itself move the needle on job creation, workforce development, or creating a positive business climate. It takes all of us, working together and uniting our resources and our voices, to effect the type of change that brings the greatest good to our community. Often when I’m talking with a small business owner that is not yet a member of the Chamber, I hear questions about what the Chamber “can do for me and my business.” That’s a natural response, and I’m sympathetic: it’s important for me as well to know that my Chamber investment is a good one. And sometimes that answer is easy: join a Leads Group, and receive tips on who to contact for potentials sales; come to Business After Hours and meet that new customer or client; or join the Chamber Diplomats and build your network of contacts who will remember you the next time they’re purchasing products or services. Almost everyone knows that the Chamber can connect you to opportunities to market your business and to network.
But when it comes to fostering a positive business climate and taking positions on legislation or regulations that impact us as businesses—from employment, to health care, to promoting local manufacturing—Chamber members gain strength in numbers and from serving as the collective voice of the business community. The benefit of being a Chamber member may not be as readily tangible as the Chamber’s other benefits, but it’s just as critical.
We’ve all heard the aphorism that a “rising tide lifts all boats.” Much of the Chamber’s work is dedicated to raising that economic tide, and to creating conditions that lift each of our business “boats” higher and higher. That’s the reason the Chamber invests time and resources in key strategic initiatives like CMU20000 and CareerWise. Those are great reasons to be a Chamber member.
I hope you will join me in urging businesses that already benefit from the work we do together to join the Chamber and help us raise the tide of economic growth even further. We are stronger and more prosperous when there are more of us working together!
Click here to download full version of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce July 2017 Newsletter.