Chamber’s New Name Better Fits Its Mission
BY JEFF BACON
The Hailey Chamber of Commerce announced last week that it is changing its name to better fit its mission in the Wood River Valley. Beginning now, The Chamber will officially be known as The Chamber of the Wood River Valley.
The reasons for the change are many but the biggest is a desire on the part of the board of directors to make sure all of our members know we are working for them every day to help develop a positive business environment in the Valley. While we enjoy a strong working relationship with the City of Hailey, it’s important to note that nearly a third of our membership now is from cities outside of Hailey and we see this percentage becoming larger in the coming years.
The Chamber’s relationship with the City of Hailey has allowed The Chamber to help organize and/or promote many of the events within the city and we’re looking forward to continuing these efforts. The Chamber’s relationship with many local and state organizations gives us a unique ability to leverage funds and create broader, more developed local advertising campaigns for the area’s recreational opportunities.
Additionally, The Chamber is working to help its member businesses stay up to date on the latest news affecting our communities and new trends in business management. An example would be the Lunch and Learn trainings that happen throughout the year. Today’s training, scheduled for noon at Wood River Inn, will help business owners and managers better utilize social media to promote their product or service.
The Chamber is proud of its successful Business After Hours and Wake Up Hailey networking events that happen each month. In an effort to make sure our north Valley members have access to this important business event, The Chamber recently held its first Business After Hours in the city of Ketchum.
This spring saw two important projects that had been requested by Chamber membership. The creation of a community guide and membership directory has given The Chamber a much-needed tool to help promote our area to potential visitors. By developing a single source of visitor information, The Chamber can inform potential visitors about the many activities the area offers long before they are here. Also, our office location in the Visitor Information Center at the exit of the airport gives us the ability to help visitors when they arrive.
Another project The Chamber completed this year was to revisit past membership surveys and conduct a special strategy meeting to make sure we are fully committed to the needs of our members. During this strategy meeting the need for more proactive working relationships with organizations like Visit Sun Valley and Sun Valley Economic Development was highlighted and developed in the hopes of maximizing all of the work these organizations do without duplicating efforts or creating mixed messages.
The Chamber is looking forward to continuing its mission to help its members throughout the Wood River Valley. We’re doing some really great things. If you’re not already a member, consider joining today.
Jeff Bacon is The Chamber’s membership director. For more information, visit www.haileyidaho.com or call The Chamber at (208) 788-3484.