Network with business and community leaders and provide ideas for new programs at the Visalia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting happening Thursday, April 29th at the Visalia Marriott.  Please join us for our annual meeting (previously known as the “State of the Chamber”) and recognize the stars of the community and business arena and begin planning for a brand new fiscal year.  Breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Visalia Marriott and the cost is $25 for members and $40 for non-members.

Job postings, member discounts, and a new and improved searchable database are just a few of the changes we have made to the Chamber’s website.  If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to go to www.visaliachamber.org and see for yourself how easy it is to find what you are looking for.  We have been hard at work redesigning our website to make it more user-friendly and more business-friendly as we continue to offer an unparalleled array of opportunities for business leaders.

A recent article in Small Business Labs , “Top 10 Small Business Trends for 2010” by Steve King, maintains economic, social and technological trends are key issues to small businesses.  He predicts a rise in home-based businesses, greener business practices leading to the creation of more small businesses, and a new localism movement which has been fueled by “changing demographics, new technology, rising energy prices, and environmental concerns.”  As a result, Americans are devoting more attention to their families, friends and communities, providing a means for small businesses to capitalize on this localism trend.  “Small businesses allow greater community focus for the owner and employees and they benefit from market opportunities created by locally-oriented customers,” King writes.

Making decisions that impact more than one person is one of the most complicated things we do as humans.   The more people impacted by a particular decision, the more difficult it becomes.  The answer often lies within that complexity, meaning that the more voices listened to, the more perspectives considered, and the more information obtained, the more likely it is that whoever ultimately makes the decision, the better it will be.

Earlier this month, voters in Visalia went to the polls and dramatically changed the leadership of our City.   Three seats on the City Council were up for election, with two incumbents trying to hold onto their positions and as many as eight others challenging them for the opportunity to lead the City for the next four years.    Voters clearly were in a mood for a new direction as they elected three new members for the first time in memory.

Is Visalia still the jewel of the valley? I would give an affirmative answer to that question, especially today.

It’s no secret that times are tough and businesses are demanding more value for their dollar these days.  Just like you, we are squeezing the most out of every dollar and extending our resources as far as possible while looking for ways to save.  Chances are, your business is re-evaluating programs, trimming unnecessary items from the budget, and finding ways to be more efficient whenever possible.

A little over a year ago, your Chamber’s leadership recognized that, as an organization, we needed to become more proactive and agile in responding to proposed new policies, regulations, or projects in our community.  As the primary voice of business in the public arena, we knew we needed a comprehensive and cohesive set of policies to guide our volunteers in taking positions on behalf of the whole organization.    As part of that effort, the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee created a series of seven (7) Focus Teams.  Each Focus Team developed a “position statement,” which describe key issues of concern and serves as an evaluation document that can be used by the Focus Team, or others, in determining how to respond to specific policy proposals.   These Position Statements were adopted as the official policy of the Chamber by the Board of Directors in February, 2009.

At the heart of every local economy is the chamber of commerce, and at the core of the chamber is the diversity of its members, both big and small.  As I begin my term as chair of the board, I am proclaiming this to be the “Year of the Member” and have made my goal to offer even more opportunities for our members to create the tangible results they demand.