The Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce held an Open House on Friday evening to discuss future plans and gain input from members.
Outgoing President Siretha Howe says the chamber is in a rebuilding mode following the resignation of Jessiycka Coleman late last year. She says their ultimate goal is to create value for members.
“We want to bring tourism to Salem,” Howe said. “We want to be able to market our businesses and their events and their sales and all those things. We want to be their right hand. We’re a tool for them.”
Howe says the chamber board has already accomplished one goal.
“We have a brand new website. Our old website is gone, so if you go to salemilchamber.community, you can already see that the value to our membership has increased. We have so many options that are coming up through there, potential podcasts in the future with training, lessons, and tips, things like that. I encourage everyone to get on there and browse what is there, and if they have any questions, critiques, or suggestions, we are all ears and willing to consider everything.”
The website includes a member listing and a community calendar.
Howe says the decision has also been made to keep the chamber office building on West Main after an earlier discussion of selling the property and having a mobile office.
Howe says they are not yet advertising for a new executive director and still need to decide if the position will be full-time or part-time.
“We want to make sure the chamber is heading in the right direction and being a value first before we just try to throw someone in that seat. We want to create a position that’s also valuable, being good stewards of the membership, and having someone who’s also going to feel that same way.
The chamber board has decided not to hold the awards gala this year as they reorganize. The annual Golf Outing has been set for May 15th at the Salem County Club. The monthly luncheons have been reestablished for the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Salem Elks. The first one will be on March 26th, when Salem Mayor Nic Farley will present the State of the City Message.
