From the Director's Desk

Chamber Members!

It continues to be my pleasure to serve as your Executive Director.  During the past three months, I have worked on both internal and external operational items. 
 
This update provides an overview how my time has been spent and what has been accomplished. While this is an overview, I will send subsequent messages to discuss some of these items in more detail. I don't want to inundate you with too much information in one email!

• Chamber Bucks restructuring - This program provides a great benefit to our merchants, retailers, and service providers as Chamber Bucks can only be redeemed at Chamber Member businesses. Did you know over $10,000 in Chamber Bucks were redeemed this year alone so far? After doing research into other Chamber Bucks programs, we are in process of restructuring the Chamber Bucks program into a system that should streamline the delivery and redemption of the Chamber Bucks. Details forthcoming... ADDITONAL NOTE... if you wish to order or redeem Chamber Bucks...we will deliver! Give us a call to place your order or let us know how much you have to redeem. It will be my pleasure to come to you.
  
  
• Event evaluation and restructuring - Several events offered by the Chamber have a long-standing history. As each "traditional" event approaches, we carefully evaluate to determine 1) if the event still serves a relevant purpose and 2) if the event continues to be offered, how can we maximize its value.
  
  Changes taking place in "traditional" events include:
  • Restructuring of the "New Teachers Reception" into a "Back to School Reception" with inspirational messages about why young professionals choose to call Fairfield home,
  • Choosing to replace the September "Farm BBQ" with a new event in conjunction with the SE Iowa Farm Show held in Fairfield in early March
  • Streamlining the Manufacturers Appreciation Luncheon held in October keeping the program from running too long-it even got done early!
  • Adjusting the renowned "Leadership Fairfield" program by increasing the component of personal leadership development compared to past sessions
    
    
• New educational sessions  -  A key role of the Chamber is the support our members by providing them relevant information and networking opportunities. Since I started in July, we offered:
  • A roundtable about the new overtime regulations affecting non-exempt employees, an issue affecting many Fairfield employers ranging from the largest companies with hundreds of employees to the small nonprofits with two employees. Did you know...if you have compliance questions regarding the new overtime regulations, you can call the Iowa Workforce Wage and Hour Division in Cedar Rapids 319-362-8074 for feedback? They are there to help you do things right. Learn more 
    
    
  • Session called Effective Marketing in the Digital Age, providing businesses insight regarding return on investment of precious marketing dollars.

          Both sessions received very high praise from participants. We continue to               plan ahead for additional sessions for our members, and always welcome                 ideas from our members.

• Changing up Chamber Talk, the Week that Will Be and the Chamber Page
  • Welcoming weekly guest to spotlight on Chamber Talk to highlight various Chamber businesses, new Chamber members, or Chamber programs and events
  • In response to member feedback, we streamlined the Week that Will Be weekly email to highlight a few upcoming events and provide a link to the full calendar
  • Gave the monthly Chamber Page featured in the Fairfield Ledger a new look by designing the page in-house

My priority in the upcoming weeks is to personally reach out to as many Chamber members as I can by phone or in-person. I have a few questions to ask each of you. With your feedback, I will work with the Chamber Board of Directors to continue to evolve the Chamber and increase the value and service we provide.
 
Help us shape the future you want see and thank you again for being part of the Chamber Family!
Cheers,
Detra
 
Detra Dettmann
Executive Director
Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce
204 West Broadway | Fairfield, Iowa 52556
o 641-472-2111
Detra@FairfieldIowa.com
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