By Deb Beddoe Chairman of the Board Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce 

Earlier this year I made a commitment to be the Chairman of the Board who spends time listening to our members. My endeavor to meet with board members, new Chamber members, and some familiar faces in the Chamber community has been paying off. I have gained a lot of insight into why businesses are members of the Chamber, what value they hope to get from their membership, and what they enjoy most about the Chamber. In no particular order here are the top 10 things that I am hearing during these meetings.

• Being a Chamber member keeps me connected to what’s happening in the community and gives me a conduit to participate in the future of the community.
• Access to politicians and other people of influence that I might not normally have access to.
• Building referral relationships with businesses that are good alliance partners for my client base.
• I learn so much about my business strategies by talking to other Chamber members.
• Being nominated for awards and receiving them gives us a reason to reach out to our client base with news about our company.
• Our company has marketing funds to support community efforts and the Chamber allows me to support the efforts that contribute to business and economic growth.
• First Friday Breakfast is by far everyone’s favorite event.
• Advertising in the journal and other Chamber advertising opportunities is more affordable than other types of public relations activities that we could spend money on.
• When I signed up to become a Chamber member, I never realized I would be meeting some of my best friends in life.
• Compared to all of the other chambers in the region this Chamber is by far the most professional, well run, and connected Chamber I’ve been to.

I’d like to thank those 26 Chamber members that have taken time out of their busy schedules to meet with me in the last couple of months to enjoy a cup of coffee, I so sincerely appreciate your time and your feedback.

For those of you who I haven’t had the opportunity to connect with yet, I hope we have a chance soon. And if you are a member and want me to try your coffee shop, please contact me! Keep up the good work everyone!