Chamber board refocuses priorities

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors identified five key areas of focus for the organization during a board retreat last week.

According to Chamber President Dawson Brunswick those areas are advocacy, capacity/partnerships, communication, networking, and business success.

Advocacy refers to the chamber’s role in supporting or opposing legislation and policies at the local, state, and federal level that affect member businesses. The chamber is already one of the first organizations that political figures contact when they want to communicate with the community, and Brunswick said that they plan to be more intentional about connecting member businesses with leaders who make decisions. Chamber Board Chair Trevor Taylor said that having the chamber come out in support or opposition to a policy can probably get more response from policy makers than if a single individual or business tries to affect change. “It’s a little bit bigger pebble in the pond.”

The chamber board also plans to focus on expanding capacity through partnerships with the McCook Economic Development Corporation and other entities.

Brunswick said that an administrative assistant or a grant writer could help both the chamber and the MEDC director to focus on other projects and initiatives that help businesses.

The chamber will continue to explore ways to communicate with members.

Brunswick said that the chamber needs to continue to evolve to meet the needs of the membership, and the first step is an exchange of information to know what those needs are.

Covid19 has made networking a challenge for all chambers, but Brunswick said that it is vital for business success.

The focus is “tying those two together [networking and business success] to provide opportunities for our members to benefit, get value out of their membership, and succeed” Brunswick said.

For example, the chamber and MEDC worked together to obtain a grant from the USDA that will allow chamber member businesses to access GROW Nebraska for training, coaching, and technical assistance with digital marketing. Brunswick said the cost for that assistance is between $200 and $350 a year, but with the grant, the fee is being waived for the first year. “So that’s exciting.

I think that’s the start of some opportunities for businesses to see some actual tangible value out of their membership.”

Brunswick said that the board is also working on updating chamber policies and procedures to provide consistency and to ensure that the chamber operates as a “healthy organization”.

As Taylor put it, “We need to be sure the ship’s running the exact same way, no matter who’s driving.”

Brunswick said that Heritage Days planners have taken steps to allow some additional distancing, so he is confident that the event can be a safe, enjoyable experience for everyone.

The committee is working with Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department to come up with recommendations to meet the social distancing guidelines. Brunswick said that some of the events may look different this year, but he’s hopeful that most of the traditional events can go forward Sept. 23 - 27.