Klamath Chamber Leaders Messages

2008 Incoming President's Message

Darin Rutledge,
Running Y Resort

Your Chamber of Commerce has had quite an exciting year. While 2007 certainly presented some challenges, we were able to not only meet our mission, but spend a good amount of time identifying what we want to look like in 2008. I am very excited about the results of our late summer strategic planning session, which centered mostly around how we get back to providing services and opportunities to our Members.

This year's theme, “Teamwork Taking Flight” ", puts those strategies into action. Our marquee event this year will be an airshow featuring the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, an aerial demonstration squadron that has committed to Klamath Falls as part of its 55th show season. As with most events of this magnitude, "Feel the Thunder!", Klamath Airshow 2008 will be a team effort. Kingsley Field, the Military Affairs Committee, the Klamath Falls Airport and many Chamber Members will partner to make this event a smashing success. What a perfect example of the teamwork that the Chamber hopes to continue to foster, facilitate, and participate in!

The most critical part of our team is you - our Members. You are the reason that we exist, and the foundation of our success. You are the consumer of our services, and the hands and minds that create progress in our organization and in our community. You are also our board members, our Ambassadors, our Military Affairs Committee members, and our volunteers. For all of those things, I would like to personally say thank you. Thank you for being a part of this community. Thank you for volunteering your valuable time to events and projects that make Klamath County what it is. And most importantly, thank you for being a Member of the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce. Our board recognizes that you probably haven't heard that enough from us, and I'm hopeful that our efforts to change that have been apparent. It is my goal that each and every member will be personally contacted by a director, officer or staff member to personally thank you for your commitment to the Chamber, and to ask you if there's anything we can do for you.

As a Chamber member, I can also tell you that your Chamber membership will increase in value the more you become involved, by way of increased marketing and networking opportunities. Here are just a few of the many ways the Chamber provides opportunities to its members:

Volunteer for a committee such as Military Affairs, Airshow, or Ambassadors
Nominate individuals to our board of directors (or participate yourself)
Suggest specialized services that your business can provide to other Members through Chamber educational opportunities
Make sure other Chamber members are the core of your business-to-business interaction

The easiest way to become involved is to simply let us know what you think. Send us an e-mail, or better yet, give us a call. Better still, invite us to your business for a personal chat! We'll be providing opportunities for you to comment on specific areas through formal and informal surveys, as well. I encourage you to look for those opportunities and take advantage of them. As the most critical piece of our team, it is important that we act on reliable information directly from our Members.

Here's to a busy, exciting and productive 2008! I am very confident in the abilities of our staff, executive director, board members and officers, and the commitment of our Membership is strong. Together, we are Taking Care of Business in Klamath County.

To Our Success,
Darin Rutledge
Operations Manager, Running Y Resort

Executive Director's Message

Time flies in this job. Just a short few weeks ago I was writing about chamber history and now we're just a part of that ongoing history. It is both exciting and daunting. The staff is focusing everyday on improving communication with our membership and Chamber operations while learning the ins and outs of the annual programs and events that are handled through the Chamber office. These weekly, monthly and annual programs are a large part of the networking opportunities the Chamber provides its members in addition to the daily management of the office.

Greeters morning meetings are a resource for networking that allows members to speak briefly about the goods and services they provide and introduce new services at their business. After this sharing of information you have the opportunity to network one on one with your fellow business people over a cup of coffee and a snack.
Business After Hours is a regular monthly evening networking opportunity for those folks who can't get to the morning Greeters or enjoy an after work get together that allows them more time to visit with other members.
Ambassadors regularly attend ribbon cuttings and grand openings (sometimes 2 or 3 a week), help with Chamber events and fund raising. The Ambassadors volunteer their time to welcome new businesses to the community and participate in variety of Chamber programs. This group is already hard at work on the Ambassadors conference in the fall of 2009 to be hosted here in Klamath Falls.
Leadership Klamath is a great way to learn how things work in our county. This program tours various private businesses, agricultural sites, government offices, social and emergency services. One day a month is dedicated to a different area of interest, such as, arts & culture, natural resources, history, transportation, economic development and media. Leadership Klamath is helping develop the community leaders of tomorrow.
The Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet held in January is the social event of the Chamber year. This event brings business people, community leaders and elected officials together to celebrate the year's accomplishments in grand style. The Annual Meeting is a formal opportunity to meet Chamber members, become acquainted with staff and honor outstanding members.

The Chamber is also in the midst of presenting the Snowflake Festival Parade, surveying for and developing a WorkDrugFree program, planning and sponsoring an air show with Kingsley Field and the Klamath Falls Airport for June 2008, upgrading our web site, recruiting new members, and scheduling a series of business education programs. All of these projects are in addition to the hundreds of telephone calls and E-mails, we receive every week, seeking information on Klamath County and our business members.

The Klamath County Chamber of Commerce is a busy place and the next few months will see many diverse projects being managed by the Chamber staff. We will be working on reinvigorating traditional programs and functions, adding educational and marketing opportunities for our members and focusing on developing new members so our organization can grow and prosper.

Charles "Chip" Massie
Executive Director