It's serious business and
yes you should be very active in supporting the business community before your
elected officials.
The key is making sure you
have a structure in place that can properly identify, review and decide on
which issues your chamber members want you to get involved in.
It's imperative that you
have a government affairs committee that can vet these issues and can make a
recommendation to the full board.
The full board must vote on these recommendations and when supportive you need to communicate your position to your members, non-members and the community in general.
The full board must vote on these recommendations and when supportive you need to communicate your position to your members, non-members and the community in general.
Remember, there will
always be someone on the other side of your position. That's because we
all listen to the same radio station WIIFM (What's In It For Me). That
goes with any issue in any community.
And that's why it's so
important to have a transparent process on how your chamber decides on what
issues to support, oppose or choose to not take a position.
You will also find that some issues you won't want to take up because it may be too controversial or you have members on both sides of that specific issue.
You will also find that some issues you won't want to take up because it may be too controversial or you have members on both sides of that specific issue.
A proactive chamber
advocacy program will garner a lot of attention from the press. Use it to
further your cause and the publicity can be a great membership recruitment
tool.
