06/20/2007 OP Chamber Focuses on the Future The Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce will outline its "State of the Chamber" report at the June Power Hour Breakfast Thursday at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club. According to Board of Directors Vice President Ron Fisher, the chamber, seeing a need to focus on the future direction of the chamber and its members, looked at upcoming issues they could come up against in the next few years. In essence, Mr. Fisher summed the situation up by commenting, "The board believed it was time to give the chamber a face lift and look at everything from the by-laws to membership services." By holding extra board meetings over a 12 week period the board first, "Revised our bylaws to take us into the new century," said Mr. Fisher. "The real focus is to expand the visibility of the chamber and provide enhanced benefits for members," he continued and with those thoughts in mind the board went on to develop a two year strategic plan which is outlined in four realistic goals and the pathways whereby the goals are to be reached. These goals include pursing excellence and quality in leadership; improving and promoting membership benefits; expanding community involvement; and increasing membership annually by 10 percent. According to the proposed plan the chamber will seek to staff the nine member board from among the general membership by seeking candidates who have proved to be strong community leaders. The chamber wants to encourage business to business advantages by offering discounts, group purchasing savings, networking and the possibility of group health benefits which the board will continue to research. Though the chamber has always been involved in community activities such as Flag Day presentations and welcoming ribbon-cutting events for new businesses, the goal of the plan is to expand this community involvement. Individual chamber members provide a huge commitment to the community in general in their personal volunteer efforts in the hospitals, shelters and churches in the area. While the fourth and final goal aims to increase membership, the board wants to reiterate its commitment to present members by helping them meet the day-to-day needs and frustrations that can be faced by businesses in an economy that relies strongly on tourist and vacation oriented venues for several months of the year. The Ocean Pines Area Chamber of Commerce moved to their new offices at 10514G Racetrack Road in October 2006. This first floor location is more convenient for new residents as well prospective members to casually stop in and obtain information on the chamber and the area it serves. The chamber was organized in 1975 and in its first 12 months of existence grew to 65 members. Today the membership list contains approximately 300 business members The June Power Hour Breakfast is the chamber's last breakfast until September when it resume monthly morning meetings at 8:15 a.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month. The chamber also holds a Business After Hours (BAH) for members on the second Thursday of each month at local eateries. The June BAH was held recently at Harborside in West Ocean City and the next one will not be until September when BAH resumes after the summer break. The early evening gatherings are held on the second Thursday of the month and begin at 5:15 p.m. For more information on the chamber call 410-641-5306.
By Dolores E. Pike
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Uploaded: 6/20/2007
