For several years, the Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce has faced inconsistent engagement with its members and turnover among its leadership. Some say it has struggled to articulate its mission and strategy.
Those concerns have been crystallized — and brought into the open — by a recent letter to the Chamber from a Boulder business owner, whose criticisms give voice to what had been quietly percolating behind the scenes.
In her July 6 letter, Carey Burnside, owner of Arctic Heat, essentially asked: Who does the Chamber serve — the businesses or the community at large?
Burnside thinks the focus has been on the community, and she thinks that’s not appropriate.
“I’ve never seen a chamber that functions for the purpose of the community and not the members of the chamber. I believe that is what the Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce is doing, serving the community and not the businesses,” she wrote.
Events that might be helpful to business owners looking to network with each other would be a Business After (or Before) Hours or events for Chamber members only, said Burnside, who said she is a member of other Chambers of Commerce in Butte, Helena and Whitehall.
Burnside’s four page letter brought up several areas of frustration beyond the lack of member-centric events. She cited the Chamber’s website, which she said needs improvement; the lack of educational opportunities geared for business and typically offered through chambers; and a lack of information for businesses and residents relocating to the area.
Burnside’s letter was shared with the Boulder Chamber Board at its July 15 meeting.
Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce President Bruce Binkowski, who works as Jefferson County’s events coordinator, has sent Burnside a letter thanking her for her concern. His response included the Chamber mission statement and invited her to attend meetings in the future.
Burnside acknowledged that she hasn’t attended meetings and that she may need to make more time to devote to the organization, but went back to her original complaint — that she isn’t receiving anything in return for her annual membership fee of $75.
“I probably should make more time in my schedule to be active with this, but until I see some significant changes it won’t be beneficial to me,” she said.
Binkowski said the Chamber is currently in a transition period, is seeking new Board members and doing what it can to keep the organization going. Among other things, he said, the Chamber is in the midst of reviewing its website to better serve members and visitors. It also is considering offering “Chamber Bucks,” based on profits from the phone book, that would incentivize shopping at local businesses. That idea will likely be discussed at the August meeting, said Binkowski.
Former Chamber President Pat Lewis, owner of the Mine Motel, said she also received Burnside’s letter. Lewis said a restructuring could be helpful right now, as the Chamber is currently run more as a public-oriented endeavor.
A restructuring could change the focus into an organization geared to promoting and helping businesses in town rather than hosting events, said Lewis. “They’re not business-oriented,” she said.
Currently, the Chamber hosts five events — the Boulder-Basin Community-Wide Garage and Yard Sale, the Boulder Farmers and Artisans Market, the Boulder Classic Car Show, the Boulder Music and Arts Festival and the Boulder Holiday Christmas Bazaar. Many of those were canceled due to COVID-19, but the community phone book was updated this year and includes advertising from local businesses.
Karmen Craft was president of the Chamber about 10 years ago. She said the Chamber started hosting events as a way to bring people to Boulder, and with the idea that it would encourage them to shop here.
The annual community yard sale, which is still held, was originally designed with the intent that businesses would hold sidewalk sales at the same time — but that didn’t happen, Craft said.
At the same time, the Chamber once hosted awards and a dinner with a dance for all business owners, said Craft. Lewis said there were also a few Business After Hours events too, which allowed local business owners to network.
Because the Chamber is all volunteers, the work fell on a few people and they got tired and burned out, said Craft.
At one time, the Chamber had a part-time employee, which Craft said was funded through a grant. But eventually, Lewis said, there wasn’t enough money to sustain the position; membership dues, she said, are not high enough to support a staffer.
The Chamber has an office behind the Gift Box, but it is not a visible entity on Main Street.
The membership roster on the website currently lists 37 businesses and organizations as members, with 10 individuals listed as “Friends” of the Chamber. A new member has also been recently added, Jefferson Valley Property Management, said Binkowski.
Lewis said that, while she believes the Chamber could be an important link between the community and the world beyond, fewer businesses join today because they don’t know what it would do to help their business.
Steve Streib, owner of Boulder Cash #56 falls in that category. He once belonged to the Chamber years ago, but dropped out because he dislikes meetings and doesn’t know what benefit he would receive. Streib does support the events the Chamber puts on, however.
Others feel differently.
Dan Gosselin owns the O-Z Motel, has been a Chamber member for 10 years, and is happy with his membership. He said the Chamber-sponsored events bring people to town.
“It helps everyone out,” said Gosselin.
Craft believes that for the Boulder Area Chamber to survive, it needs more than just a few businesses and people involved. Otherwise, she said, it could die out.
A look around the state
Other small-town chambers across Montana present some possible models.
The Monitor took a look at 20 Chamber of Commerce websites throughout Montana, focusing on those in counties and towns with a similar population to Boulder.
Of the 20, eight had a staff member of some kind, while several others offered regular office hours or operated a visitor center.
Many of those 20 chambers offer business-oriented activities, such as Business After Hours, awards dinners and banquets, weekly or monthly newsletters and member directories with logos and easy to access links. Although some sites appear to be out of date, many list not only the board member or directors’ names, but also what business he or she is affiliated with.
Marshall Bettendorf is the executive director for the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, which has more than 100 members in a town with a population of 840.
Bettendorf said the businesses in town are engaged with the Chamber through memberships, sponsorships, a monthly newsletter and a good deal of informal communication through phone calls, visits to the office and a brochure that outlines every visible business in town. The Chamber also recently revamped its website using a local web designer.
The Ennis Chamber promotes a monthly Business After Hours, a member appreciation dinner and Small Business Saturday that includes a raffle. The Chamber puts on seven to nine events a year, such as the annual Fly Fishing Festival, which brings people to Ennis, said Bettendorf.
While COVID-19 has put a damper on many activities, Bettendorf is looking to start an additional networking event that will meet quarterly. Bettendorf has also created a high school internship program, and this summer, three high schoolers worked for the Chamber in exchange for scholarship benefits.
“They are very engaged,” said Bettendorf of the commercial members, who pay $175 per year to join. Nonprofits can join for $100, and Friends pay $35 a year.
Michael Blakeley is a former president and currently the treasurer of the Powell County Chamber of Commerce in Deer Lodge, which has about 95 members.
The Powell County Chamber hosts members-only events, such as Business After Hours and an annual awards ceremony. For the latter, the Chamber concentrates on bringing in speakers, and they are often former residents who have been successful in other parts of the country, said Blakeley.
Blakeley said the members seem to enjoy the events that are geared to them. The Chamber in Deer Lodge also puts on three to four fundraisers each year, which along with dues and grants, fund the Chamber’s operating budget. Part of the operation includes a full-time executive director and an office that is open during the week.
Dues for businesses are based on the number of employees and range from $80 for one to four employees to $500 a year for corporations. There are also rates for out of county businesses at $70, nonprofits at $60 and a Friends rate of $40 a year.
Blakeley said it’s been helpful having a staffer whose job it is to promote the businesses and the Chamber.
Blakeley said membership has stagnated a bit and thinks it’s because most businesses in town are already members, and there have been some closures due to COVID-19 — a trend that he fears will continue.
While the Chamber in Deer Lodge is an active one, if there were one thing that could be improved upon, it would be more “buy-in” from members, said Blakeley, adding that groups tend to get involved in their own projects and lose sight of the Chamber’s larger vision.
“It would be fun if everyone was on the same page,” he said.
The Whitehall Chamber of Commerce, also located in Jefferson County, does not currently host members-only events, said President John Kreis.
What has worked in Whitehall has been the focus on community events, such as Frontier Days and the Black Tie and Blue Jeans fundraisers.
The Whitehall Chamber has a part-time coordinator and offers an office where businesses can post their materials, he said.
Kreis credits a committed membership who are interested in community events, particularly Jill Dove and Kristi Wilson, who help create the energy to carry the organization forward.
Whitehall currently has 87 members, said Kreis.
“There seems to be good energy here in town,” said Kreis.
Todd O’Hair is the president and CEO for the Montana Chamber of Commerce.
O’Hair said the chambers in Montana are separate and independent organizations and do not report to the state Chamber, or each other. Each reflects the community in which it is located, and many focus on tourism-related activities, said O’Hair.
“They’re just all different,” he said.
