ARTICLE
For many citizens of our beautiful Central Coast, 2017 was another year of slow growth keeping the economy of Santa Cruz County on the up-tick. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.4% in the region but ahead of the state rates. We had a remarkable and resilient year. At the Annual meeting last January our chamber members were asked to consider some of the forces at work and how the Chamber might best adapt to this changing environment. Using a national chamber association’s analysis of eight core forces as a starting point the program considered the question, “What are the goals most appropriate to the Chamber?” The core goals are: Belonging and Gathering; Communications and Technology; Scarcity and Abundance, Global Impacts, Population Shift, Political and Social Fragmentation, Resource Alignment, and Catalytic Leadership. Like many goals of an organization they get morphed into the reality of the world in which we live, work and recreate. When the Chamber leadership turned to find a new CEO, it was a sea change decision that provided a new trajectory for the organization. It wasn’t as though the Chamber was oar-less. It had been under great leadership for years, but it was time to move in a new direction. If two words can describe our mission in 2017 — it was Catalytic Leadership. During this past year, your Chamber board wanted to be more narrowly focused on one or two policy issues that impact our region — housing rose to the top. The Chamber took a lead role in pushing for more housing opportunities and we will continued to partner with our public sector colleagues, business leaders and community stakeholders in all parts of the county to find solutions to this vexing problem. It will take an all-in collaborative process to achieve success. It takes time and all of our members have an obligation to be part of the process. Let’s give you a snap shot of the past 10 months showcasing what your Chamber has been doing for our members: Your Chamber has hosted over 30 events in 2017 from ‘join the Chamber’ to our annual membership meeting in January, an economic outlook report in February by John Williams from the Federal Reserve to a highly successful Business Fair with over 100 participating members and guests; multiple networking mixers and ribbon cutting ceremonies; workshops ranging from employment law to a Welcome the Warriors as a signature reception in May. We also had a lunch time conversation with State Senator Scott Wiener about California and our region’s housing affordability and accessibility that lead to a new state law. Our Community Leadership Visit (CLV) traveled to seven Bay Area cities in August where over 50 Santa Cruz leaders participated. The CLV encouraged our local governments to engage in a more robust conversation and housing action plans for the city and county. The fall season increased our advocacy and community outreach with policy decision makers, setting the stage for more impactful engagement in 2018. We had a run of sell-out events during the fall and winter season, each one creating positive community energy to the next event. Over 300 people attended the sold-out 2017 Gala Award Dinner where we honored the very best of Santa Cruz. In late December we kicked off the Leadership Forum which will bring business, public, and non-profit leaders to Santa Cruz once a quarter in 2018. They will share their stories about leading in a changing world. Thank you for your engagement and participation in making 2017 such a success! We look forward to another prosperous year with you in 2018. Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year! Please stay in touch with your Chamber by reading our weekly eNews and our events notices.
For many citizens of our beautiful Central Coast, 2017 was another year of slow growth keeping the economy of Santa Cruz County on the up-tick. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.4% in the region but ahead of the state rates. We had a remarkable and resilient year.
At the Annual meeting last January our chamber members were asked to consider some of the forces at work and how the Chamber might best adapt to this changing environment. Using a national chamber association’s analysis of eight core forces as a starting point the program considered the question, “What are the goals most appropriate to the Chamber?”
The core goals are: Belonging and Gathering; Communications and Technology; Scarcity and Abundance, Global Impacts, Population Shift, Political and Social Fragmentation, Resource Alignment, and Catalytic Leadership. Like many goals of an organization they get morphed into the reality of the world in which we live, work and recreate.
When the Chamber leadership turned to find a new CEO, it was a sea change decision that provided a new trajectory for the organization. It wasn’t as though the Chamber was oar-less. It had been under great leadership for years, but it was time to move in a new direction. If two words can describe our mission in 2017 — it was Catalytic Leadership.
During this past year, your Chamber board wanted to be more narrowly focused on one or two policy issues that impact our region — housing rose to the top. The Chamber took a lead role in pushing for more housing opportunities and we will continued to partner with our public sector colleagues, business leaders and community stakeholders in all parts of the county to find solutions to this vexing problem. It will take an all-in collaborative process to achieve success. It takes time and all of our members have an obligation to be part of the process.
Let’s give you a snap shot of the past 10 months showcasing what your Chamber has been doing for our members: Your Chamber has hosted over 30 events in 2017 from ‘join the Chamber’ to our annual membership meeting in January, an economic outlook report in February by John Williams from the Federal Reserve to a highly successful Business Fair with over 100 participating members and guests; multiple networking mixers and ribbon cutting ceremonies; workshops ranging from employment law to a Welcome the Warriors as a signature reception in May. We also had a lunch time conversation with State Senator Scott Wiener about California and our region’s housing affordability and accessibility that lead to a new state law.
Our Community Leadership Visit (CLV) traveled to seven Bay Area cities in August where over 50 Santa Cruz leaders participated. The CLV encouraged our local governments to engage in a more robust conversation and housing action plans for the city and county. The fall season increased our advocacy and community outreach with policy decision makers, setting the stage for more impactful engagement in 2018.
We had a run of sell-out events during the fall and winter season, each one creating positive community energy to the next event. Over 300 people attended the sold-out 2017 Gala Award Dinner where we honored the very best of Santa Cruz.
In late December we kicked off the Leadership Forum which will bring business, public, and non-profit leaders to Santa Cruz once a quarter in 2018. They will share their stories about leading in a changing world.
Thank you for your engagement and participation in making 2017 such a success! We look forward to another prosperous year with you in 2018. Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year!
Please stay in touch with your Chamber by reading our weekly eNews and our events notices.