From Where I Sit: A Message From Our Chair, Russell Lacey

 Excerpts from my speech at the 95th Installation Dinner
Thank you for placing your trust in me to head this Storied Chamber for  the     next 18 months.
And to our members of the Board who are Not here tonight well, thank you       in advance for being Voluntold to sit in on the next County Council session!!
My Goal for this presentation tonight is simple: When you leave here you will   have a renewed vision for your continued support of the GBCC and you will   be asking yourself “How/What can I do to support this Board and its mission   this year?

---

I want to talk with you about 3 things:

• Owning our market
• Enhancing our Technology and systems
• And an acronym that I learned from Rotary – FRANK

We are called the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce. Roughly speaking from Twinbrook Parkway to the north and Western Ave. to the south. That swath of real estate holds within it an enviable amount of Purchasing Power!
Certainly, the Northern section of our market area, depending with whom you speak, suffers from an identity crisis or naming challenge. Now with the White Flint metro being officially re-named North Bethesda and the business world re-opening, the GBCC has a unique opportunity to make a statement in this northern end of our territory. With safety and frugality in mind, we need to be Loud and present as quickly as possible--
The next 18 months are going to be busy for the Chamber Board and staff. We have already started enhancements to our website and billing process. I believe the number of clicks needed to register for an event have been cut in half! I ask you not to be shy is you see a way to improve our website, please let me or Allie know your thoughts—We are here for you.
On the Membership front, we are starting to embrace more of a subscription model—like Netflix. This will save time, energy and the expense of annual billings.
Before we get to FRANK I want you to know that the Chamber does a Lot of things FOR our Members, specifically, Advocacy, Connections and Community.
Advocacy – The Chamber works to monitor the legislation on both a local & state level working to educate our policy makers on how best to support our business community. Example - Restaurant openings…..
Connections – The Chamber acts as a conduit with Member-to-Member connections as well as Member-to-regulators, legislators, and other Business partners. Example - my office lease ……
Community – As we are re-opening and enjoying more face-to-face time, we are developing relationships, learning about each other as individuals Behind the businesses that we run. And most of the time we even Like each other!  Learning about how our business colleagues spend their leisure time adds new dimensions to our connections and we are all the Richer for it.
And now to my buddy, FRANK – Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors, & Kids.
Think about that – The first two are easy, Friends & Relatives.
Associates? It could be a vendor, a friendly competitor, a business that you frequent.
Neighbors – right next door, who do they work for? Are they Business Owners?
Kids – Some of OUR children’s friends are Entrepreneurs, or just getting started in the workforce and would value the support and Experience from joining the Chamber – Next Exec’s
It’s up to us, as members to educate them and offer them the opportunity to become part of our dynamic community.
The point is we are all here because we see value in this organization and appreciate how the Chamber can Help us all be more successful in our business lives and enhance our community along the way.