Chambers meet to talk about the future

By Jan Teague, President/CEO

A critical challenge for businesses today is having time to take advantage of various services.  Nearly 200 executives from Washington and Oregon Chambers of Commerce met last week to hear perspectives on how to help local businesses move into the future. 

One speaker told the audience that while people are busier, they still expect to see a return on the cost of their dues.  Each generation of the workforce has its preferences on how services are delivered.  We have become a knowledge economy with personalization critical to providing relevant services to the business community. Political advocacy was highlighted as a critical service and one that gets to the values held by businesses such as controlling the cost of labor, taxes, and regulation.

"Younger people seek and demand a return for membership, including tangible member services, high levels of accountability, identifiable career advantages, a sense of professional community, and opportunities to serve within associations."  This was a quote I thought worth repeating about Millennials (people born between 1981-2000), talking about the future of association participation by William E. Smith, Institute for Association Research.

The conference was thought provoking and it gave both Mark Johnson and me the opportunity to talk with Washington State executives about two critical issues for next year's legislative session. 

We hosted an evening reception and handed out the latest information on the negative impacts to local businesses if the out-of-state resident sales tax exemption is removed.  This issue came up last session and could come back again.  We said we were very hopeful that a back-to-school sales tax free holiday would pass next year.  We also attended a wrap up legislative strategy meeting and highlighted these issues to the executives as they discussed their statewide legislative platform.  We felt as though both issues were well received by everyone and that when the time comes, we can ask for chamber support during session.

I am a firm believer that Chambers of Commerce play a critical role in the legislature.  They have been our allies for many years and as we continue to work together on key issues, the business community's views grow stronger.