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Priority Statements and Action Steps
The Chamber will:
Actively participate in enhancing the quality of education in our community.
- Promote stronger linkages between educational institutions and employers.
- Encourage expanded partnerships between business leaders and educators.
- Advocate a strong Character
Education curriculum in the community
schools.
- Support careers education for young people and continuous education that trains and
retrains workers to provide area employers with a talented and technologically fit
workforce.
- Promote workforce initiatives in partnership
with the JobLink Career
Center, while building awareness for
“best practices” from other communities.
Promote stronger alliances and partnerships with regional communities for transportation, economic development and legislative strength.
- Support a common vision and cooperation between Watauga and its neighboring counties.
- Take a leadership role in building
coalitions to foster collaborative
efforts on issues related to regional
transportation, economic development
and legislative affairs.
- Leverage the resources of Appalachian State University to establish a unified presence in the region.
Aggressively promote the Boone area to regional, state and national audiences.
- Continue to encourage initiatives that effectively promote tourism attractions and events as well as quality of life advantages of the Boone area.
- Serve as a community news bureau, disseminating news and feature material to local, regional, state and national news media outlets, along with story ideas and
leads.
- Coordinate the “Hand of Hospitality”
program with the Town of Boone that
promotes business development,
under the umbrella theme of “We’re
glad you’re here…in Boone, North
Carolina, USA.”
- Promote a creative marketing approach that seeks to establish effective packaging arrangements and strategic business alliances.
Forge strong relationships with elected officials, state agencies and the General Assembly.
- Advocate improvements to area highway, rail, air and mass transit transportation systems.
- Prepare a legislative agenda that
details the Chamber’s positions on
important public policy issues. Serve
as a clearinghouse for information
pertaining to legislative issues.
Coordinate a grass
roots response network.
- Provide additional
opportunities for
Chamber members to
interact with government
officials at all
levels.
- Work with all political
parties to place
more area representatives
on state
boards and agencies.
Encourage consumers to "Shop Watauga First."
- Promote the advantages of shopping locally and regionally, and seek to differentiate the uniqueness of the Boone area as a shopping destination. Promote broad-based use of the "Chamber Cheques" program.
- Explore niche marketing to university students, visitors and summer residents.
- Educate local residents about the scope of services and products available in the region.
- Promote activities that help Chamber members to improve customer service, achieve competitive marketing advantages and become more responsive to consumer
needs.
Membership Marketing Goals
- Create and promote tangible benefits and advantages for members. Promote special programming that benefits small businesses.
- Encourage participation in educational
programs that provide opportunities
for members to improve their
profitability and serve the needs of
their customers.
- Increase volunteer participation in
the membership recruitment and
retention processes.
- Identify and implement new programs to enhance customer satisfaction and increase non-dues revenue.
- Implement a fair-share
investment schedule based
on “best practices” used by
targeted Chambers.
Communications
- Assure that the Chamber's programs, services and its positions on issues are communicated to the membership, business community, elected officials and to the
general public.
- Use a variety of media to build awareness of Chamber goals and activities and the benefits of membership.
- Establish and maintain positive relationships with area news media. Prepare and distribute news releases on Chamber accomplishments, programs and events.
- Coordinate production of the Chamber Voice, a monthly newsletter that is printed as an insert in the Watauga Democrat. Distribute electronic newsletters and special communiqués as needed.
- Publish the annual Membership Directory & Newcomer's Guide.
- Record a weekly television program to MTN focusing on Chamber members and events.
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