Members of the Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce discussed the future of the organization at the December meeting.Pat Jeffrey, board chairman and pastor of Grace Community Church, was the only board member present. Connie Johnson, board president and owner of Taste Buds Restaurant in Calhan, was absent because of weather. ìWhat are we going to do about the chamber? If this is not the place to meet and not the time to meet, let’s talk about it,î Jeffrey said. ìThere is no emotional tie to us meeting here at the church. I’m here because I believe in the importance of businesses in the community we build.îìThe chamber is worth my time,î said Ben Kley, general manager of Falcon Broadband. ìI don’t think the other organizations in Falcon can meet the goals and objectives that the chamber can meet. I’ve seen this chamber at its best and believe it can be there again.î Kley presented the results of a survey of current and past chamber members. ìWe need to listen also to the people who left the chamber, because the reason they left is important,î he said. ìOne of the overall things people said was the people who were active felt they weren’t getting anything back. We need to stop backstabbing our officers.î Kley presented gifts to Jeffrey and Johnson in recognition for their continuing service during the reorganization process.Kley’s survey asked respondents what they felt the chamber did well. ìThe co-founding of the Southern Colorado Business Partnership and the Falcon Festival from 2004 through 2009 were mentioned as successes,î he said. ìAt some point, we tried to do too much or too many little things, and we lost the festival that people can point to from the community as a chamber event.îBusinesses that responded to Kley’s survey addressed the negative aspects of the chamber. Those who completed the survey stated the chamber did poorly when it came to changes and conflicts within the board, keeping the meetings to an absolute time frame and the loss of chamber identity to the Falcon Festival, he said. The Falcon Festival has been combined with Falcon Freedom Days, which is run by Meridian Ranch.Most people said the mission is good, Kley said. ìThere’s no problem with the mission; it’s perhaps the execution of the mission,î he quoted from the survey. Responses to the question of what the chamber can do differently included changing how conflicts are resolved and avoiding alienating members with different political or business viewpoints.The membership present decided to keep the chamber active and not officially dissolve the organization. Losing membership in the SCBP, donating the remaining organization funds and losing the rights to the chamber name were discussed as negative effects of formally disbanding. ìThe people who were aware of the bylaws said they needed updating,î Kley said. ìMaybe we as a group freeze activity, freeze the funds and spend a couple months reorganizing. Then, have new elections under new bylaws in six months and reintroduce the chamber to the community.îJeffrey suggested using the January meeting to have members and observers provide input about changes that need to be made and how to implement them. ìIt seems to me that as a chamber, if we’re going to take a stand on something, it should be discussed and voted on at the meeting, not sprung on the members from the board,î Jeffrey said. ìAs we go into this time period of changes, we make sure it’s decided by the body of members, not just the board.îThe January work session meeting will be held Jan. 8 at 7:30 a.m. at Grace Community Church in Falcon. All members and non-member local businesses are encouraged to attend.
