Newsletter
Chamber President, Bryan Tusow
Who benefits from the efforts of your Chamber of Commerce? The better question is “Who doesn’t”? You would be hard pressed to find an individual or business, Chamber member or not, that does not benefit directly or indirectly from the marketing efforts and services that your Chamber of Commerce provides. Let’s start with the members. For the small business owner, the Chamber provides a marketing economy of scale most could never achieve on their own. The ability to reach more people over a greater area, more often and in a structured, professional manner is a tremendous benefit.
How about the large businesses? Don’t they market on their own, and have huge budgets? Of course. However, the Chamber markets the AREA. Quite often, visitors become so enamored of our area that they choose to become residents and move to Perham, which is the ultimate compliment for our community. For big and small businesses alike, finding quality employees is an ongoing challenge. One of the Perham business community’s mantras for years has been that “Perham has more jobs than people”. While that is a fantastic assertion/fact, it does point out the issue of needing more people. For the bigger businesses, the Chamber is an indirect recruiting engine. We show off our area, so those businesses can in turn show off their operation and prospectively increase their potential labor pool.
How about the layperson with no affiliation with the Chamber? Since I became involved with the Chamber four years ago, I’ve gotten asked many times, often by younger residents, “what does the Chamber do”? Rather than get into the litany of efforts the Chamber embarks upon, I usually explain it this way: “Do you like the fact that you have two great grocery stores to shop at? How about multiple gas stations and convenience stores? How about the choices of restaurants? Need a haircut or a massage? You have many choices. Want to buy a computer or LCD TV as cheap as you could at a box store, but have local service? Again, you have multiple choices here. Financing for your boats, cars, rv, or home? Again, MULTIPLE choices. By helping all these businesses market themselves, the Chamber in turn helps make them more viable and continues to provide a business climate that attracts NEW businesses, which in turn offer more options to our residents.
So………you see……..we ALL benefit in one way or another from what YOUR Chamber of Commerce does. Thank you all for your support. Your Chamber looks forward to growing with you.
Bryan Tusow, Perham Area Chamber President 2011
Perham Area Chamber of Commerce185 East Main Street
Perham MN 56573
218-346-7710