Here’s to a milestone in our small company. This is the 50th regular issue of our newsletter! We had no idea we could keep doing it for one year let alone the over 8 years it has been published. It started as an idea from Lorraine to give the Chambers news and information on Chamber happenings as we crisscrossed the country. She thought it would be a good idea that could be well received. It was, and it is! What she didn’t realize was how much work it was to get it done and out every two months. My biggest dread is that her next idea will be to produce this newsletter every month! That means looking for new ideas and information to spread around. Just in case, Jimmy has come up with a question/answer idea that will fit in. Both he and Lorraine (and sometimes me) are asked about our company Event records. The are questions asked usually require some research, and finding the answers falls on me. So every now and then we will put in a column of questions and answers, like this first one:

YOU ASKED DEPT: You asked: “What Chamber brought in the most members in a YCC Membership Event?”

The current record holder is Beaumont, TX with 433 new members in 2002. The next 6 in order are: McAllen, TX, 399 in 1999; Tyler, TX, 342 in 1998; Victoria, TX, 333 in 2002; Harlingen, TX, 324 in 2002; Lake Charles, LA, 314 in 2001; and Seguin, TX, 305 in 2002.

However, if the question was, “What Chamber brought in the most dollars in a YCC Membership Event?” The honors would be a little different. In order they are: Beaumont, TX raised $108,695 in 2002; The Rio Grande Valley Partnership in Weslaco, TX raised $94,150 in 2000; Lake Charles, LA raised $91,723 in 2001; Plano, TX raised $89,770 in 1998; McAllen, TX raised $85,681 in 1999; Tyler, TX raised $79,035 in 1998; and the Rio Grande Valley Partnership got on the list again with $78,250 in 2002.

The vast majority of our Membership Events take place in under 3 days. Occasionally there are more teams and volunteers than there are shifts. We will go into 3 full days of Events followed by the party on the 4th day. Now that really becomes a work week.

CIVIC DUTY DEPT: YOU GO OAKLAND! Outraged at the violence of the few that darkened the image of their great city after the Super Bowl, the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce set up a special Foundation/Merchants Fund to assist those in the business community that suffered vandalism that day. The Chamber will gather donations, determine the most effective use of the funds, and disperse them where and when needed. The Chamber has encouraged all of its members to donate whatever they can and has urged the city officials to prosecute the vandals to the fullest extent of the law. Nobody disses their city and gets away with it!

PROFESSIONALISM DEPT: Part four in a series of articles from our President, Lorraine Deitchman:

Over the past 11 years, Jimmy, Macy and I have worked with almost 400 different Chambers. If you count the Chambers we worked with before forming Your Chamber Connection, the count would probably be well over 500 Chambers. If you count the Chambers we have visited to tell the YCC story, well, the number would add up to at least 600 Chambers.

In all those Chambers we have seen some adequately run and the great majority, very well run organizations. We have seen small one to three person Chambers and large, over 20 staff people Chambers. The majority of Chambers are well organized, run by a staff of 6 or less. There are so many top notch Chambers that we would have to publish an entire newsletter with just their names in order to name them all. Chambers like Oakland and Redding, California; Columbia and Independence, Missouri; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Aurora, Illinois; McAllen, Beaumont, and Orange, Texas are wonderful examples of smooth, well organized Chambers with strong leaders, but there are two Chambers that stand out above all the Chambers we know (so far): Harlingen, Texas and Joplin, Missouri.

These two Chambers could be text book role models of how a Chamber can organize itself to better serve the membership and the leadership, while attracting and retaining a knowledgeable and interactive staff.

Their staffs (like so many of you out there) are friendly, know what they are doing, try to do even better than asked, and get the job done without stepping on toes. All Chambers on the whole are pleasant to work with (Macy can relate a story about one Chamber that is a notable exception, but he promised he won’t) but these guys were so efficient that we could do our job of bringing in new members without worrying about the little things that could go wrong and didn’t.

Chamber staff rarely get a pat on the back, acknowledgement for a job well done, and recognition from the Chamber’s Board of Directors. When we work with a Chamber, we try to give them kudos for the Board to hear. This time for these two Chambers and their staff, we want to let their peers know how great they are (and maybe they will copy this to slip into the minutes of the next Board of Directors meeting).

Thank you Harlingen, Texas. Thank you Joplin, Missouri. You are great examples of great Chambers!

STRANGE HEADLINES DEPT: Headline from the Tacoma, Washington newspaper book review section, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Commerce.”

THE YCC STORY DEPT: The YCC Relationship by Jimmy Cusano, Vice President. Across the country, from Chamber to Chamber, volunteers and Chamber staff alike ask Lorraine and me the same questions: “How do you two after all these years not kill each other?” “How did you meet?” “How did two people, so different in age and personality, start this business?”

The first question is a good one and is still a work in progress, but we do recognize we need each other. The second question is easy as Lorraine and I met at a Chamber membership “drive”. As to the third question, I guess we just banded together knowing that there was a need for a different kind of membership company out there that could make a difference to a CofC. Even more importantly there needed to be a membership company that was not seen as just another vendor to the Chamber. We wanted to be a company that the Chamber staff, the volunteers, and the community would realize we really cared about their needs as much as they did!

The other part of the question as to the age thing is interesting. Being almost 30 years apart in age does make for some challenges, but true growth doesn’t come without challenges. When you have a younger man (that‘s me), very confident, bouncing off the wall, loves what he does, dresses to stand out, and isn’t ashamed to tell you how he feels, you need a stabilizing factor. You need someone who is calm and soothing (that’s Lorraine), takes care of detail, has a great sense of humor, is able to listen, and is able to give good advice. It is a great mixture of personalities. All generations at our Events love it (we are told).

At any one time you may see us as business partners, mother and son, two boxers ready to step into the ring, or just two friends that are very strong-willed and willing to sacrifice for each other. When you see us together, you may think of us as an odd pair, but we are a pair that have been together for over 12 years, running successful (very successful) Membership Events across the nation. We love our jobs, our company, and truly care how Membership Events are conducted. We may be an “Odd Couple”, but this couple is there for you!

BOARD MANAGEMENT DEPT: A Baker’s Dozen of Fatal Errors That Managers (in any organization) Make;

1 Refuse to accept accountability. The manager is the one in charge. He can’t just take the credit for good times; he has to accept the blame also when it goes down the drain.

2 Fail to develop people. Managers should always hire and develop people that can take over their jobs.

3 Try to control results. In the long run, you can only control the results of your own actions.

4 Join the wrong crowd. Cliques will only pull down a Chamber and the Chamber management.

5 Manage everyone the same way. Everybody is different. Some take strokes to stay positive; some take goals to strive for; and some need deadlines. Whatever the course, find the method and use it.

6 Forget the importance of profit. A Chamber may be listed as a non-profit organization, but if you bleed long enough, you will die! The bottom line is what pays everyone’s salary. Growth means money, and money means more programs to gain new members and keep the old ones.

7 Concentrate on problems rather than objectives. If you spend all your time killing snakes and putting out fires, you will never reach your goals. Your staff members have to learn to work on their own without starting fires and cloning snakes.

8 Be a buddy, not a boss. They say you should never hire relatives or friends to work for you. Generally this is good advice unless that friend or relative has a special talent that would benefit the organization. It’s tough to discipline (or fire) a friend. It’s impossible to do the same to a relative without it coming back to hurt you. That’s why you have to remember that you are the boss and not a buddy.

9 Fail to set standards (and fail to live by them).

10 Fail to train people. Just like developing people, training is fundamental to success.

11 Condone incompetence. Done wrong the first time is a mistake. It can happen to anybody. Advise to correct. Done wrong the second time, could be a system error that should be corrected. Done the third time, is a human error that must be corrected.

12 Recognize only top performers. A well run organization has its top performers about whom you can gauge results easily, like a membership sales person. What about the clerk that enters the information correctly each time that you take for granted?

13 Try to manipulate people. Politicians and con-men do this all the time. Let everyone know honestly where you stand and why. If it’s right, you will get the job done.

VOLUNTEER DEPT: Here is how a Baytown, Texas volunteer viewed a YCC Membership Event;

Money ain’t red,

And the ground ain’t blue,

Y’all listen up,

This is about you.

When we started this thing,

The chests were stuck out,

There was screaming and howling

And even some shouts.

We pulled our teams together,

We formulated our plans,

But with Jim Jerry, Reggie and Gordon,

Who is the man?

Dynamic leaders all,

They gave us advice,

Some of it was nasty,

But some was nice.

We took the high road,

We followed the rules,

That’s the way Top Dogs are,

We ain’t no fools.

But, potential members were snatched, Before my very nose,

Some wearing britches,

Some wearing hose.

Phone calls were made,

In the middle of the night,

“Gary, I got X number of members on my team,

Is that all right?”

So we started the battle,

Our nerves were of steel,

The tension in this room,

You could just feel.

But you want to know what happened,

As we prepared for the Battle From Hell?

We started noticing the new member list,

And it was starting to swell.

My God, it was working,

The money came in,

So those of you we called enemy,

We now call friend.

The Event was successful,

We should all stand tall,

We achieved our goal,

And that’s something, y’all.

Finally, I have just one question,

And it doesn’t concern boots,

Jimmy, Just where in the hell,

Do you get them suits?

Gary Cochran, Baytown, Texas

(Ed. Note; Haiku it’s not,

But it came from the heart,

The story is true,

Believe it or not!)

CONSULTANTS DEPT: Subject: at the veterinary clinic.

A man brought a very limp hamster into the veterinary clinic. As he laid the hamster on the table, Doctor Buck pulled out his stethoscope, placing the receptor on the hamster's chest. After a moment or two, the Doc shook his head sadly and said, "I'm sorry, but your hamster has passed away."

"What?" screamed the man. "How can you tell? You haven't done any testing on him or anything. I want another opinion!" With that, Doc turned and left the room. In a few moments, he returned with a Labrador Retriever.

The Retriever went right to work, sniffing the poor hamster on the table and checking him out thoroughly. After a considerable amount of sniffing, the Retriever sadly shook his head and went, “Woof." The veterinarian then took the Labrador out and returned in a few moments with a cat, which walked around the poor hamster several times and then sadly shook his head and said, "Meow." He then jumped off the table and ran out of the room.

The veterinarian said, “There's nothing more I can do." He handed the man a bill for $600. The hamster's owner went ballistic. "$600! Just to tell me my hamster is dead? This is outrageous!"

Doc shook his head sadly and explained, "If you had taken my word for it, the cost would have been $50, but with the Lab work and the cat scan ..."

(Ed. Note; It was either a shaggy dog story, or another poem!)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER DEPT: Need to do something different for your next special banquet? Here’s a couple of comments about Jimmy’s participation:

“With his high energy level and unique clothing style, he brought many local professionals to their feet and gave them a deeper understanding of what our chamber can do for them.” Gina Nelson, Hayes, Kansas.

“You brought our audience to life and they had a great time – in fact, to quote one old-timer in the crowd ; “I have never before enjoyed a chamber banquet and I have gone to them for 20 years.” Phyllis Hunt, Victoria, Texas.

Call YCC to book Jimmy for your next VIP Keynoter. Whether it is a banquet, a Board Retreat, or a Kickoff, Jimmy’s the VIP! Call 800/678-6241.