Chamber Pastelle Feature Story

December 2015

Bloomington-Normal Area

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Setting the PACE:

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here’s a huge focus these days on choosing to live our lives with a focus on being grateful for what we have.

Here in McLean County, we do, indeed, have much to be grateful for.

Due to our uniquely diversified economic base, we’re usually well insulated from the cyclical economic damage that impacts other areas where the economy is more dependent on one specific industry.

It’s easy to take our prosperity and good fortune for granted. After all, we’re a hardy bunch of Midwesterners, descended from the pioneers who headed west to build their homesteads and make their fortunes, right?

Right. But that was 150 years ago, so we can hardly take the credit for that.

Fortunately, the spirit of those hardy homesteaders lives on in the mission of today’s McLean County Chamber of Commerce. With a vision “to build a vibrant, progressive business community that works together to make McLean County a great place to do business," our Chamber works tirelessly to create a welcoming environment where people want to live and work.

Charlie Moore has been President and CEO of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce for seven years, and has been a catalyst for change and growth since his first day on the job. “I sincerely believe that there’s no better place to be in business right now than here in McLean County,” said Moore. “Our business community is made up of talented, innovative entrepreneurs and 18

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Setting the PACE:

business owners who genuinely care about building not only successful businesses, but also about creating an environment where we can recruit and retain top talent for the future.”

Moore’s vision is reflected in the acronym that he and his team developed to describe their work. “The acronym PACE reflects our mission,” Moore explained. “To support our members, we Promote local commerce, Advocate business perspectives, Create and maintain relevant programs, and Establish relationships for business success.”

These dedicated employees are supported by the Chamber’s Board of Directors, led by Chairman Bob Miller (Vice President of Operations at Advocate BroMenn Hospital), eighteen board members, and more than twenty committees made up of interested volunteers from different member businesses.

“I have been so impressed with the Chamber staff in their level of professionalism, responsiveness, and achievement,” said Miller. “This is a high-functioning staff and a hard-working, volunteer board of directors who share an aligned vision and passion around building relationships that serve our membership. This level of service has been accomplished through continual efforts to better represent our members, as well as grow with new memberships through listening and responding to their needs.”

Diane Siron is the Chamber’s longestserving employee. She’s worked for seven different CEOs since her first day on the job, back in June of 1995. Her job has always

been to work at the front desk, and her current job title is Membership and Program Assistant. “My duties have changed dramatically as technology has changed over the years,” said Siron. “Now, instead of answering hundreds of phone calls every week and taking hand-written messages, we use social media and e-mail to communicate with our members. Things get done much more quickly and efficiently now!”

It’s a good thing, too, since the Chamber serves nearly 1000 member businesses.

Wendy Olson, Manager of Member Development, and Cindy Smith, Manager of Member Services, work together to coordinate frequent networking events so local professionals have the opportunity to meet, greet, get to know one another, and to share information about their businesses.

Olson also oversees the Chamber Ambassadors committee, which welcomes new businesses to the community, and helps them get involved with the causes they care about right away. Their efforts, and these events, have helped to create a cohesive, cooperative business community, where collaboration is encouraged, and everybody wins.

Jessica Mann is the Chamber’s Manager of Event Services, and every year, she plans and coordinates a series of widely anticipated annual events that offer the opportunity to turn the spotlight on the individuals and businesses that excel in their professions.

“Our premier event, the Annual Gala, is taking place on January 30, 2016,” said

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Mann. “It’s a black tie event that celebrates the contributions and accomplishments of our local business and community leaders.”

The Chamber also works to uncover and identify policy issues that affect the local business community, and then recommends workable, pro-business solutions to legislators at the local, state, and federal level.

“The rising cost of providing health insurance for employees is a constant concern for our members,” according to Brian Thede, the Chamber’s Business and Relationships Manager for ECHI, the Employer’s Coalition for Healthcare, Inc. ECHI was created by local business leaders to allow small businesses to come together and buy insurance as part of a larger group, which has made providing health care coverage to their employees much more reasonable. “Access to quality, affordable benefits is an important workplace issue, and remains one of the Chamber’s top priorities,” said Thede.

ECHI is just one example of the collaborative programs that the Chamber has created over the years. “Collaboration is the key to economic success in any endeavor,” according to Todd Lowery, the Chamber’s Manager of Public Relations and Governmental Affairs. “So we’ve joined CIRCLE, a group of 18 chambers from throughout the region whose goal is to strengthen the voice of the Central Illinois business community with state legislators.”

The Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC) sends a weekly e-newsletter, called the Government Affairs Update, to all interested members, and in 2014, the Chamber introduced the Candidate Training Institute (CTI), a 4-week class that prepares private citizens to run for public office. CTI teaches potential candidates everything they need to know, from how to file the proper paperwork, to fundraising and marketing their candidacy.

Board Chairman Bob Miller believes that keeping the community working together, and developing future leaders,

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is key to the Chamber’s success, and the region’s future prosperity. “This year, I’ve had so many opportunities to meet with community leaders, hear their perspectives, and learn about the opportunities that can be created through more community partnership and collaboration,” said Miller. “These encounters have spanned the public and private sectors, and have been especially rewarding in the context of BN Advantage, a joint venture between the Chamber and the area’s other leading economic development organizations that will carry us forward through economic diversification, and leveraging our strengths.

The hard work is ahead, but I am confident that we have the right people involved to make it happen.”

Consistent with that focus on the future, says Cindy Smith, Manager of Member Services, “We want to be sure that our members have access to continuing education and professional development opportunities throughout their careers, so we also work to create relevant programming for them.

Leadership McLean County (LMC) is our longest-running educational program, and it’s been running for twenty two years,” said Smith. LMC participants spend nearly a year working together, volunteering, and learning more about how different components of our local economy work together to plan for, and maintain, our long-term prosperity.

Like all businesses, someone has to manage everything that goes on behind the scenes. “At the Chamber, most of those tasks fall to me and to Scott Heape, our Manager of Finance and Operations,” said Jonathan Strupek, Manager of Marketing and Public Relations. “I manage all the Chamber’s communications, doing photography and videography at our events, designing program logos, and managing our social media and marketing materials.

Scott manages our finances, coordinates member use of the Chamber facilities, and serves as our Human Resources Manager.”

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“This team has come together to achieve great things,” said Charlie Moore.

“Last year, our Chamber was named the 2014 Chamber of Commerce of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE).”

“This award is the only one in the nation to recognize the dual role chambers have in leading businesses and communities,” Moore explained. “To be nominated, a chamber must have demonstrated success in community leadership, be among the top in the nation for financial and membership growth, and have a demonstrable impact on key community priorities.”

It’s easy to take our prosperity and good fortune for granted, but next time you walk into a brand new store, or wait in line at the newest restaurant in town, remember that it takes a lot of people working together to get those businesses to build their new stores here instead of somewhere else.

Charlie Moore, and his team at The McLean County Chamber of Commerce, are among the key people who make it happen.

Just as our pioneering forebears headed west to build a new country and shape their own destinies, our Chamber of Commerce works vigorously to ensure that our local economy remains robust, resilient, and competitive as we shape our economic destiny.

The McLean County Chamber of Commerce office is open 8:30-4:30 Monday through Friday at 2203 E. Empire Street in Bloomington, or anytime at mcleancochamber.org. If you’d like to join the Chamber, contact wendy@mcleancochamber.org for more information, or call 309-829-6344. To learn more about BN Advantage, visit bnadvantage.com.

Photo credit: youngvet/iStock

By Julie Workman

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