Supervisor Adam Hill meets with the Legislative Council in February.
In just three months the community of volunteers who comprise the SLO Chamber’s Committee system have researched countywide tourism marketing, provided feedback on the city’s Good Neighbor Policy, met with numerous city and county officials, and logged more than 260 hours improving the member experience.
“Our volunteers come from all walks of the community,” SLO Chamber President and CEO Ermina Karim said. “Whether they are helping at Good Morning SLO or researching a recommendation to the board, it is their leadership, passion and decades of experience that provide guidance and direction for every action that we take.”
Throughout the year the SLO Chamber Board of Directors puts forward public policy recommendations, hosts city and countywide events, and advocates for the betterment of the SLO community. Every decision, motion and action that the SLO Chamber advances is backed by Chamber Committees, a community of volunteers who spend hours researching, vetting, studying, reporting, inspecting and scrutinizing each issue before forwarding a motion to the Chamber Board.
Meeting for the first time this year in February, the first quarter of the year has been busy for committee volunteers.
Economic Development Committee
In February, Assistant City Manager Michael Codron visited the Chamber to discuss the current and future challenges that the city is having with infrastructure costs and fees. This meeting resulted in the Chamber board reaffirming its support of section 1.5 of the city’s Economic Development Strategic Plan, which furthers the Chamber’s long-standing goal of implementing and more equitably distributing the cost of necessary infrastructure improvements across all stakeholders.
During a joint meeting with the Tourism Council in March, the Economic Development Committee studied the formation of a countywide tourism marketing district and hosted Stacie Jacob, executive director of Visit San Luis Obispo County as well as Pragna Patel of Somata Management. After a thorough debate and discussion the committee passed along the recommendation that the Chamber support the effort to bring together a more unified tourism marketing message that enhances the cooperation and collaboration countywide on behalf of all lodging properties.
Ambassadors Committee
Through the first quarter of the year the Ambassador Committee has already volunteered more than 260 hours of service, reaching out to members, attending ribbon cuttings, staffing events and working on member retention.
Designed to keep the Chamber connected and in touch with member needs, the 26 Ambassadors volunteer most of their time with member outreach and helping to ensure a great member experience at all Chamber functions, from the new member breakfast and monthly mixers to manning the registration table at Good Morning SLO and the State of the State.
Ambassadors have also spent hours making member calls to ensure that all new members are aware and taking advantage of the benefits of membership as well as calling first and second year members to gain feedback on Chamber services.
Legislative Council
Aiming to inform, influence and promote the Chamber’s policy priorities while at the same time gain insightful, ground-floor knowledge about issues affecting the community, the Legislative Council has already attended two brown-bag small-group forums with key decision makers in the city and county. County Supervisor Adam Hill visited the Chamber in February and spoke about his vision for the county and what challenges lie ahead.
Issues Evaluation Committee
Committed to passing on sound, researched and well vetted recommendations to the Chamber Board of Directors, the Issues Evaluation Committee studies and analyzes business-related legislative topics, quality of life and social issues, long-term planning and policy development on local, state and federal levels.
The committee, looking into the draft of the city’s Good Neighbor Policy, hosted SLO’s Housing Programs Manager Tyler Corey, Community Development Director Derek Johnson, and business owner, Bill Thoma in February. Corey spoke of the importance of a sound policy that promotes communication between the business community and the homeless services providers.
A motion that included the formation of a Chamber subcommittee to provide specific feedback regarding performance guidelines, accountability and communication to the Good Neighbor Policy, was forwarded onto and accepted by the Chamber Board. The subcommittee’s work was forwarded to the city and the Planning Commission and will eventually go to city council. The Chamber sees this proposed policy as a positive tool to help address the Major City Goal of implementing comprehensive strategies to address homeless and transient issues.