North Central chamber bolsters administrative ranks
According to David McKeehan, president of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, there's nothing more important to local business owners than what happens during the waning hours of city council meetings.
"We need to help our members understand local ordinances," McKeehan said. "Nothing can effect a small business person more than what takes place in a city hall at 7:30 at night, when they're just locking their door or are open for another half hour."
Because those late night budget votes can have a big impact on the bottom line for a small business owner, McKeehan's chamber is looking to strengthen its communication with members and the public on local policy issues.
The chamber recently hired a marketing and communications manager, an economic development manager and a director of finance and administration. They are currently seeking a sales and member services manager.
The marketing post is a newly created position intended to publicize chamber activities and programs to both its membership organizations and the public they serve, McKeehan said.
"As a membership organization we have a primary market of our member companies, of course," he said. "But we also have a number of programs designed to foster economic opportunity in the region in general. So we have the public as a secondary audience."
McKeehan explained that before deciding to create the new position, chamber staff were constantly trying to publicize its efforts at facilitating business growth and stability in the region. The new marketing and communications manager will only serve to broaden those efforts.
"Each staff member has done it individually," McKeehan said. "In this case, we're simply trying to concentrate that responsibility and get someone with more specific training in that area. We have expert staff in areas where communication is perhaps a secondary skill, so here we're just looking for someone to take it to a higher level."
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