4
November 2016
Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau
From the President
We held our Board of Directors retreat this past week and had a great discussion
about the realities of the organization and our aspirations of what we want to be. It
was great discussion and I believe the Board of Directors are dedicated to making
sure we bring value to our members and the community.
Jeanine McKenna
President & CEO
One item discussed at the retreat was the community visioning that took place
over the last eighteen months and how the findings relate back to what we are
hearing from our members: workforce development and housing. We realize that
these are two critical areas that need to be addressed in order for our members and
the community to grow.
In a recent article in our association magazine, the president of the organization
wrote about the important role Chambers play in economic development. In the
article he mentioned that in today’s world communities (chambers) must put an
emphasis on the four P’s: people, place, policy and positioning. We must take
responsibility to understand the basics of how jobs, investors, and skilled employees
decide where they should move or grow. He ended his article in saying: “Should
you recast your perception of your portfolio of work to recognize the role you play in
“the sustained, concerted actions of communities and policymakers that improve the
standard of living and economic health of a specific locality?” He thinks “Yes”, and
so do we.
At this time we are currently evaluating all our activities, and events, and seeing
what we need to do to make progress on the issues that are important to you, your
business and our community. I am looking forward to working with our members in
making this transition and hope that anyone wanting to work with us, step forward
and let us know. This is a task that shouldn’t be done alone, and we look forward to
working with many community partners.
2016 has been a great year for our office and 2017 is looking even brighter. We
are fortunate to live in a community where people are willing to step up and do
their part in making Emporia a great place to live, work and raise our families.
Remember, It’s a Great Day in Emporia! Tell someone.