The recent overwhelming success of the inaugural running of the Mad Marathon and the on-going success of events such as the Vermont Festival of the Arts and the Green Mountain Stage Race show that The Valley is well suited to hosting such large scale events. These events fill our inns, lodges and restaurants and bring important benefits to all Valley businesses.
These businesses and events are owned and operated by your friends and neighbors and make the Mad River Valley a special place to live, work and visit. As a chamber of commerce, we recognize that we need to change with our members and need to make sure that we are doing everything possible to support a vibrant, yet balanced business community.
As such, we are soliciting the thoughts and opinions of the Mad River Valley business community. We are conducting a Valley Business Survey and are encouraging all local businesses to participate. What would compel a local business to belong to its local chamber: civic duty, networking, website exposure, marketing, group health insurance or professional development seminars? What would be meaningful and worthy of one’s investment? Should the chamber be in the event production or promotion business? What are businesses willing to invest, not monetarily, but with participation in decision making and implementation? The results of this survey will be used to help direct the chamber’s future planning and overall strategic planning.
The chamber is a member-driven organization, made up of dedicated volunteers. While we certainly aren’t perfect, we are trying hard to make a difference and do a better job listening to our members and non-members alike to ensure we are doing everything we can to address their needs and the needs of the local business community both today and into the future. I encourage you to get involved in the chamber as we plan strategically for tomorrow. There are many ways to get involved through a variety of committees. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or Susan Klein at the chamber if you are interested.
We can only make a difference by working together toward common goals that make a positive impact on the local community. The board takes this feedback seriously and we hope to make meaningful improvements based on your comments and suggestions. To complete the online survey, visit www.madrivervalley.com/survey.
We hope that you will take a moment to help us better meet your needs in the future.
Halavonich is chair of the Mad River
Valley Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
