BRATTLEBORO — In response to a 3-percent decrease in membership in 2011, the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce is expanding its efforts in reaching out to its community.
Chamber Executive Director Jerry Goldberg called the decline “part of a growing trend among Chambers around the country. We were lucky to have avoided this until now.”
At the moment, the Chamber has about 550 members. Although this decline was the first in six years, Goldberg said that the Chamber realizes the need to expand further into the community to stave off further losses.
Goldberg said that the Chamber has just passed the mid-point of its annual membership renewal drive, and the organization is on track to complete the task in less time than in recent memory. So far, 327 have already re-upped for 2012, or just shy of 60 percent.
Since the beginning of 2012, 9 new members have joined the Chamber, he said.
The lingering economic slump in Windham County - combined with the double whammy of the Brooks House fire last April and flooding from Tropical Storm Irene last August - made 2011 a particularly demanding year for Brattleboro, Goldberg said.
With the first two months of 2012 in the books, what Goldberg called “a less-than-wintry winter” has also had an effect on Chamber members.
These challenges make it more important for the Chamber to continue to expand its “The One and Only Brattleboro” marketing campaign, he said.
“Working with BaBB [Building a Better Brattleboro], we developed and deployed the 'Keep It Here in Greater Brattleboro This Year!' holiday shopping campaign,” said Goldberg. “Attractive signage and advertising helped position Greater Brattleboro as a destination for locals and visitors alike for unique holiday shopping. We think it worked, and plan on keeping the 'Keep It Here' theme going all year.”
Other marketing efforts include the use of new media, including a Facebook page, to inform community members of coming events.
“The Chamber Window,” a newsletter for visitors and community members which includes local shops and attractions, is now online, and the Chamber is expanding the recipient list for its “e-Communique” updates to its members and friends. A redesign of the Chamber's website will launch soon.
Goldberg hopes that these measures will allow potential visitors to see with ease what Brattleboro has to offer and keep the momentum in letting people know that Brattleboro is alive and well, its stores and enterprises open for business after a fire and flood.
“Both events wreaked havoc with the local economy and our general sense of well-being,” said Goldberg. “Yet the Chamber, working with other member organizations like BaBB and the West Brattleboro Association, was able to pick up the pieces in its path toward helping the community pull together.”
To keep the “One and Only” campaign going, Goldberg said the Chamber is using the membership drive to invite its members to sponsor the campaign voluntarily by including a small donation toward that effort over and above their regular dues.
“So far, the response has been very encouraging, with almost 10 percent of members checking that box,” said Goldberg.
Other corporate sponsors, including Entergy, the Brattleboro Retreat, and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, have also kicked in.