Paula White
Boerne chamber 

In last week’s column we told you that more than 21 percent of our members joined more than 42,000 members from other chambers in 42 states, representing over 300 chambers nationwide, to address a myriad of issues confronting businesses today. Over the next several weeks, this column will be addressing each subject the survey evaluated, sharing the results with you and discussing the steps we are taking to add even more value to the programs we offer.

Our most valuable programs

Building on strength is a strategy for success. The second question requiring membership comments was “What are the three most valuable programs provided by the chamber?”

By overwhelming numbers, members most valued the opportunities the chamber provides for networking. Of course, that speaks to the very core of what chambers are all about. During the course of a year, between business-after-hours mixers, luncheons, networking breakfasts, ribbon cuttings, special events, council meetings, new member receptions, and other meetings, your chamber offers more than 200 opportunities to every single member to promote their businesses. We are interested in hearing your ideas for improving the quality of those opportunities. We invite you to send us your stories about how your business benefits from your participation so we can share your experiences with our newer members or with those who have yet to really get involved.

Keeping in mind that our members said that the top three issues facing the chamber are growth, involvement in governmental affairs, and member education, it is interesting to see that governmental affairs issues and educational forums are the next most valuable programs our members believe we offer. From the water forums to the State Affairs Update (emailed biweekly) to the customer-service seminars, your chamber strives to provide good quality information to help you prepare to make sound decisions. Further, representatives of the chamber attend City Council meetings and other meetings so that we can be the voice of business when the issues affect you. We are investigating several additional seminars for presentation in Boerne, and the Government Affairs Council is planning a transportation forum that will enable state and local officials the opportunity to hear the concerns of local business owners and citizens and provide a platform for solutions that will work. We welcome your thoughts on other programs you think that the chamber can offer to address these issues.

You’d expect referrals to be valuable to any business, and chamber referrals are the last of the top three programs undertaken by the chamber according to the survey. Every year we field thousands of phone calls from local residents, from people in the surrounding counties and from visitors to our area asking us who they should contact for a product or service. We are proud to refer callers to local chamber businesses owned and run by people we know personally. In addition, thousands of people each month visit our website and click through to visit our members’ Web sites. We encourage every member to evaluate their presence on the Web to determine if they are putting their best foot forward to browsers and potential customers for their business. More than 45,000 people have clicked into our directory since February to find out about businesses in Boerne. If you want to check the number of people who visit your website via the chamber’s Web site and don’t know how to do that, just give us a call here at the chamber and we’ll be happy to show you how. This is a great way to see a return on your investment in the Chamber of Commerce in a tangible way.

Another program that received high marks in the survey is our communication program. Our informative online newsletter managed by Lynn Richter and the various updates and notices we provide through email all serve to keep us in touch with our members and our members in touch with the issues.

We are a member-driven organization in both word and deed. We are committed to serving as the voice of business in Boerne. We encourage you to keep the conversation going by sharing ideas and thoughts, both negative and positive, with us. Please put my email address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) in your address book on your computer and let me know at any time when you have something you want to share. These comments are passed right along to our board members. You can also contact any of our board members to address concerns or ideas you might have. Click on our Web site at boerne.org for a list of our elected board members, click on the -mail icon beside their names and your e-mail goes directly to them. We encourage your input at any time.