AIS Labs

Dear Chamber Member,

2011 is the year of communication.

• Improved two-way communication with our members from our staff, committees, and board
• New opportunities for cost-effective advertising to better communicate with your customers
• Strategic communication with our neighboring chambers and business associations for mutually added value by leverage each other's strengths

I believe that if you are really good at something, you make it look easy, and if you really understand something, you can explain it in simply. Therefore the overall vision for the chamber communication strategy is to make it simple and easy to use. Since we live in an on-demand society where people are busier than ever, a high-level example of one of the improvements is automatically "pushing" information only to people it is relevant to so they don't have to remember to "pull" it from the chamber. Today, I had met with Jerry Roper, CEO of the Chicago Chamber, whom after I expressed some of these ideas in detail, he brought in a staff member and directed to implement in his chamber.

2011 will also be an exciting year for the new chamber staff. Katherine Leibforth has replaced Donna Hutchinson and we currently have a search committee for the replacement of Donna Whitney when she retires in the next few months. Her dedicated service to the chamber has made us stronger and she will be missed. The entire board and Bob will work to ensure the new staff feel welcome and productive.

Lastly, I'd like to introduce your 2011 Executive Board and each members' focus area:

Jeff Pieta, President – Chamber vision and strategy

Ed Gervain, 1st Vice President – Professional Development and Chamber operations

Dan Halm, 2nd Vice President – LAC and Ambassadors committee, Chamber communications

Treasurer, Brent Duelm – Budget, financial reporting, Chamber billing and receivables

Secretary, Ken Grunke - Non-profit, construction, holiday lunch committees, Chamber board meetings

Member at Large, Michele Johann – Golf and awards committees

Member at Large, Jenna Crowther – Increasing value to chamber members

Please feel free to contact any of us for opportunities to get involved. We're all volunteers working for the members' best interest, your help is like ice cream – there's always room for more!

Jeff Pieta

President - West Suburban Chamber of Commerce and Industry

President - All Information Services, Inc.