by Richard Werst
Forty people at a Mineral County Chamber meeting? It may come as a shock to some but it is true.
In what may well be an attendance record for a Mineral County Chamber of Commerce meeting, 40 people gathered in the St Regis Community Center to discuss common goals and partnership marketing in the county.
Following a great meal catered, and served by the OK Cafe, Eric Erlander took a little time to discuss co-op advertising opportunities for the area.
Special Guest Jay Robson, who was the featured speaker for the first Chamber Dinner at Durangos in Superior on January 17th, provided the audience with some follow-up information to his previous presentation on Partnership Marketing.
After the dinner Robson announced that he would soon retire, from his position as the manager of Dollar Rent-A-Car in Missoula – that he intended to spend some time exploring the islands off the coast of Washington, British Colombia, and Alaska, in a yacht that he and his wife had purchased.
The participants broke into small discussion groups following the short talks and, according to Chamber President Jim Hollenbeck, numerous partnerships were discussed that will affect the County from Lookout pass to Alberton.
The people discovered that they have a lot of things in common, he said, many made plans to meet together away from the Chamber dinner to explore opportunities, common goals, and how their individual businesses could help each other.
The Administrative and Communications Manager, for the Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, Brian Pearson, agreed, and told the Chronicle that the group session gave people the chance to start sharing specific ideas.
“I see getting these individual ideas the first step in putting together a plan for how the chamber can best serve the business community of Mineral County.” he said, “Most everyone I spoke with agreed that cooperative efforts can bring more benefit than individual efforts.”
“We all need fresh ideas to keep moving,” he continued, adding that as they continued to grow, both as a ski area and as the Route of the Hiawatha Trail, he thought Lookout Pass could play a role in marketing in Mineral County.
“Given patience, and persistence,” he said, “I think Mineral County is in an excellent position for successfully moving into the future.” There are problems created by the increase in attendance, but they are not entirely unwelcome.
Seating has never been a problem before, and it seems to be something that is an issue now, Hollenbeck told the Chronicle, adding that seeing business owners explore ways to increase each other’s market share was very gratifying.
Rosie’s Cafe, at 100 River Street in Superior, will host the next meeting in the Chamber Education Series.
It is scheduled for March 13, 2008, between 6:30 and 9:00 PM, and those who attend will be able to choose between Mushroom Smothered Sirloin, or Atlantic Salmon with Dill Sauce for 8.95, with soup salad and twice baked potatoes.
Executive Director Racene Friede, from Glacier County Regional Tourism Commission, will speak on Regional Partnership and Marketing of an area – of small rural areas in particular.
Raised in a small community, Friede is a native Montanan who earned a Communications degree from MSU. In addition to her position as the executive director of Glacier Country, the experience that she will be bringing to the dinner presentation stems from the time she spent as the Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau for the City of Bozeman, and her job as a Marketing Representative for Blackfoot Telephone in Missoula.
She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Blackfoot Challenge – a diverse group that is working to preserve the Blackfoot River Corridor.
That experience has helped her to see what can happen when people begin with what they do agree on as a starting point.
To concentrate on the 80 percent where you do agree, she said during a short phone interview, without focusing on the few areas where you disagree. With that as a base Glacier Country is looking to partner with local chambers stretch the advertising and promotional dollars.
By sitting down at the table and finding out what our common goals are you can accomplish some really great things, she said, adding that her rural-town Montana roots were one of the reasons that she believed in the principal of co-op marketing as a way to achieve those great things.
Those who are interested in attending the next Chamber Presentation are asked to RSVP to Mary Jo Berry: 822-4800, Jim Hollenbeck: 822-2200, or Richard Werst: 722-2614.
Comments (0)
The Clark Fork Chronicle
http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com/article.php/20080306015625988