SCCCC President’s Message: 4th Quarter 2011
Dear SCCCC Members:
The task of serving as President of your Chamber of Commerce seemed daunting as I contemplated taking over the position about a year ago. It’s not like I could put my business on hold so I would have more available time for the job, or that I would get a salary, or any financial benefits; so what was I thinking? How could I do this? And now, one year later, as my term is about to expire, I’m sure that the new, incoming President is thinking to himself “What am I thinking?”
Well, it was a lot of work, especially with losing an executive director and having to find a replacement, dealing with financial and budget issues, personnel issues, member issues, logistics, program speakers, etc. But I made it, with more than just a little help from my friends. In particular, I would like to thank the Chamber Board’s Executive Committee comprised of Brian Roselli of Allstate, Chris Cuthbert of Genesis HealthCare, Matt Tucker of Pegasus Technologies and Joe Waters of R.J. Waters. And thanks also go out to our committee chairs: Jim Horn of Tri-M – Community and Government Relations, Don Sellers of Edward Jones – Membership, George Bennitt of ServePro – Ambassadors, and Joe Waters – Communications. And of course, the hard working, full time Chamber staff, Executive Director, Cheryl Kuhn and office manager, Nancy Wykel.
One would think that with more than 80 years of history behind us, the Chamber would pretty much run itself. But the Chamber, much like any of our member businesses, must constantly morph itself into a vibrant, meaningful organization. And it must stay abreast of a changing economy, changing technology, and an ever-changing business climate.
In the last few weeks, I have been involved in ribbon cuttings at Jennersville Regional Hospital and Bowling Green, both facilities are expanding and improving and upgrading to meet client and community needs, both facilities are led by hard working dynamic executives, and they both take the time to be involved with our Chamber. They must see value in their membership if they are spending the time.
And the many small businesses in Southern Chester County that are Chamber members also are changing and growing and adapting to the current economy and business climate, they too have hard working dedicated executives that take the time to be involved in the Chamber because they see and appreciate the value of their membership.
And so my parting message to you is this: don’t just renew your membership in the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce, renew, get involved and stay involved. Contribute your time and effort and energy, and yes, some money, and you will get a tremendous payback, a very valuable and tangible return on your investment.
I sure did!
Steve Butler
2011 Board President
Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce