tte - July 25, 2012 VOuR COMMUNITV Page 7
From page 1
"We're forming cohesive relation-
ships with commit:tees that rely on
community involvement and vol-
unteers, but benefit from chamber
backing in areas such as insurance
and fiscal management."
In other words, chamber mem-
bers and volunteers are stepping up
to handle the parades, the finance,
the Sportsman's Holiday Court,
events such as the annual awards
banquet and After Hours mixers,
membership and just about every-
thing else the chamber is involved
in.
And if the volunteers aren't
in place yet to make these things
happen, Hawkins and Sweet Home
Economic Development Director
Brian Hoffman, who has brought
his past experiences in other com-
munities to bear in counseling the
board as it has worked through
various problems and issues, say
that's the wave of the future.
Last August the chamber cut
its hours and reverted largely to
volunteer help to keep its Visi-
tors Center open during the height
of the tourist season. Hoffman
took an active role in advising the
board, based on his previous expe-
rience with other chambers, and a
comprehensive policies and pro-
cedures manual, along with finan-
cial accountability guidelines that
previously had been non-existent,
were implemented.
The chamber office was staffed
a few hours a day, mainly by Cher-
rie Carranza, who volunteered her
time for more than a year.
Those moves have paid off,
Hawkins and Hoffman say.
With help from the city, the
Visitors Center is open Tuesdays
through Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to
5 p.m.
Carranza resigned recently,
but Visitors Center coordinator
Sherri Pagliari and Heidi Saito are
paid staff. Pagliari has previous ex-
perience in a much larger chamber
in the Sacramento area, Hawkins
Said.
"She has a passion for tour-
ism," Hawkins said. "She's very
proactive. She knows who to reach
out to, almost intuitively."
Firlancial assistance from the
city has been key to getting the
Visitors Center operation back on
its feet, she said.
"The city has decided to make
the Visitors Center a priority, help-
ing to fund the Visitors Center.
This is a monetary partnership, but
the support factor is more impor-
tant than the money - just the fact
that the city is willing to stand be-
hind it."
Hawkins said the Beautifica-
tion Committee spent two days
planting and redefining the flower
beds and lawns outside the cham-
ber.
"(Committee Chair) Alice
Grovom came out personally and
watered for an entire week to make
sure everything was set," she said.
"She called Brian at Santiam Spray
Service to come over and spray the
entire area so we could put down
bark dust. He did that as a dona-
tion.
"T2 Trucking, the Totmans,
donated a truckload of bark dust.
We're seeing members who want
to be involved and change things."
The next step, Hawkins and
Hoffman say, is to define what the
community wants the chamber to
become. A general meeting forAnita Hutchins.
members is being planned for the "That's why I call myself a
fall. facilitator," she said. "The board
"It will take the community makes all the decisions and, for
to create a vision for how Sweet the most part, implements every-
Home views itself," Hoffman said. thing."
"They need to define what tourism Two seats are vacant and
looks like for Sweet Home." Hawkins said board members are
Though membership is notinterested in hearing from prospec-
yet what Hawkins and other board Live candidates,
members want it to be, she said it is Even more, she said, they want
on the rise and the chamber is start- to hear from the community.
ing to generate some enthusiasm. "We want transparency,"
Key to that will be communi- she said. "We want to know what
cating with former members who members think of our ideas. Mem-
may not have had positive experi- bers need to be involved rather
ences in the chamber, than peripheral."
"We want to repair the frac- Her personal dream, she said,
Lures," Hawkins said. "I think as is "to have our motels so busy they
people see personal and philo- have to expand. That's the kind of
sophical changes, they are starting environment we want to create."
to respond to that. In time, as the The public is invited to cham-
community sees things happening ber board meetings the third Thurs-
and builds trust in the chamber, day of each month at 9 a.m. at the
that trust will come full circle." chamber office.
Though Hawkins chairs the In September, the board plans
board and is a visible proponent of to hold a meeting of the general
the chamber and its activities, she membership to talk about goals for
said decisions are made by the en- the organization and get feedback
tire group - Andrew Allen, Brandi to prepare for such goals, Hawkins
Pickett, Kim Palmer, Diane Ger- said.
son, Mike Hall, Don Gonzales, and "What we want to see happen
Photo by Scott Swanson
Chamber members and staff, from left, Rubble Nyara, Cindy Thompson,
Sherri Pagliari, Don Gonzalez and Lerena Ruby visit during a recent Af-
ter Hours mixer hosted by Periwinkle Provisions and Oregon Prospecting
and Rita's Relics.
and what we're beginning to see members, really seeking relation-
happen is our members become ship, with membership secondary
more inclusive in the process and to relationship that we have with
make more contributions to the various businesses. That's going to
community as a whole," she said. be how we focus, which will be dif-
"We're, rather than seeking ferent. It's a philosophy change."
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