Home » FCC Highlight Reel: Membership Woes

FCC Highlight Reel: Membership Woes

by Kirby Lindsay, posted 4 August 2014

 

The Fremont Chamber Board works to improve the quality of life in Fremont, in part through its monthly meetings.  Photo by K. Lindsay, Oct '13
The Fremont Chamber Board works to improve the quality of life in Fremont, in part through its monthly meetings. Photo by K. Lindsay, Oct ’13

Sorry to say but the July meeting of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors lacked sensation or spice.  It did, however, underscore an important aspect of community – the need for involvement, no matter how passive.

Membership Number

The Fremont Chamber Board meeting started with a brief discussion on the need to increase its membership.

The Fremont Chamber is a strong organization, with a supportive core of members (only some of whom serve on the board,) and widening rings of members who participate – from those who attend every event to those who attend occasionally to those who show support if only as a paid member.  However, the Chamber also serves a vast number of people who benefit from this organization and never pay even a token membership fee.

The Fremont Chamber invites everyone - member or non - to nearly all of its events, and most especially to its annual magical mystery 'Ducks, Dogs & Suds' tour!  Photo by K. Lindsay, Aug '09
The Fremont Chamber invites everyone – member or non – to nearly all of its events, and most especially to its annual magical mystery ‘Ducks, Dogs & Suds’ tour! Photo by K. Lindsay, Aug ’09

Begun in 1982, the Fremont Chamber paid member number slowly swelled to nearly 300 – and then stopped.  Since the early 1990s (when this author worked for the Chamber,) the organization has consistently maintained a number of 300 paid members – never much below it, but also never much above.

At the July Board Meeting, Board President Phil Megenhardt made note about that rather odd, restrictive ceiling.  He commented on the need for the Chamber to get the word out, and hopefully stir more area business owners/managers to join.

Get The Word Out

The Board went on from there to discuss the many items on its full agenda including:

  • soliciting donations to area organizations (including a need to support the Wallingford Boys & Girls Club Halloween Hoopla)
  • creating a long-range marketing plan for Fremont that ‘tells the story’
  • organizing a collective holiday advertising campaign for Fremont retailers/restaurants
  • working a grant from the City of Seattle to develop a new, free-ware database for use by all neighborhood Chambers of Commerce
  • promoting the entirely social, and often silly, ‘Ducks, Dogs & Suds’ gathering and tour on August 20th at 5p starting at History House

The Board also discussed the upcoming, fundraising Fremont Oktoberfest, organized by Megenhardt’s company Bold Hat Productions.  This year, the event will be all-ages on Sunday, September 21st due to the reputation of trustworthiness and responsibility built by Bold Hat with the City of Seattle and the Washington State Liquor Control Board.

Fremont Oktoberfest raises the operating funds used by the Fremont Chamber – and draws thousands of people to Fremont.  These attendees drink beer at Oktoberfest, but they also eat at Fremont restaurants and, if enticed, shop Fremont retailers.

A Fremont Fair update was given at this meeting, along with continued efforts to work with Ryan Hegeman Reiter, of Piranha Blonde, on a two-day Mobile Food Rodeo for Fremont in August 2015.  This means negotiating with the businesses most heavily impacted by the event (Theo Chocolate, Indoor Sun Shoppe, Fremont Studios, Fremont Foundry, Free Range Cycles, etc.,) but the event could draw more foot traffic into area bars and restaurants (it makes no logical sense but the May Food Truck Rodeo always means increased business for Fremont’s brick-and-mortar eateries.)

What The Chamber Does

According to President Megenhardt, the Fremont Chamber has to figure out how to get the word out about membership.  Perhaps the problem is that many don’t really understand how much the Chamber does on behalf of this neighborhood.

At its July meeting, the Chamber Board discussed, at some length, its negotiations with the Fremont Arts Council.  On August 10th, a meeting has been scheduled for the leaders of both groups to discuss funding for the annual Solstice Parade.  The need for funding has been discussed, as a crisis, at several meetings of the Chamber Board this year.  Not as a Chamber crisis, but as a neighborhood-wide crisis that must be addressed and solved.

The Board also heard an update on the pedestrian crosswalk being installed, in November, at N 43rd Street across Fremont Avenue, by request from the Fremont Neighborhood Council.  Chamber Executive Director Jessica Vets reported on the efforts to mitigate the street parking losses this improvement requires, on behalf of the area businesses, and those who will visit this part of Fremont for whatever reason.

Membership Dues

While the Fremont Chamber remains a strong, effective organization – 295 members is, really, a great number – it has had money problems.  Earlier this year the Board acknowledged that its emergency funds have been overspent on donations to area organizations and non-Chamber events.  The Board has begun to develop a way to restore the fund, and a system to avoid this problem in the future (while still giving Community Grants.)

One idea for restoring the fund is to increase membership dues.  The current dues structure, which is quite elaborate, last saw an increase six years ago, according to a report given at the June 2014 Board Meeting.

However, at that time – and since – observations have also been made that if more area businesses (and individuals) were to join, and take that membership number up over 300 (even up to the 1000s, which is closer to the number of people that receive the weekly Chamber newsletter – the Friday Blast,) a dues increase could be avoided.

The Fremont Chamber, and its Board, provides a platform for the entire community of Fremont.  Its mission statement reads: ‘The Fremont Chamber of Commerce strengthens the business climate and improves the quality of life in the Fremont area.’

If you want to learn more about how the Chamber ‘improves the quality of life,’ its Board Meetings are always open-to-the-public.  The next one is August 27th at 8a at History House of Greater Seattle.  The Fremont Chamber also has an active website, a Facebook page – and a really kick-ass, social event coming up.  That would be the ‘Ducks, Dogs & Suds’ mentioned earlier, which costs $25 per person but is open to anyone – Chamber member or not.

Spread the word, won’t you?

 

 


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©2014 Kirby Lindsay.  This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws.  Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.

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