Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce
Chief Staff Executive: Jackie Krawczak
Number of Years in the Profession: 3.5

Alpena Chamber Mission: Be serving its members, the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce actively champions economic development and the advancement of the communities quality of life.

Year Chamber Incorporated:1936
Communities Served: Alpena
Organization Awards Received: 2009 Outstanding Chamber of the Year, small category

Number of Members: 381
Total Chamber Budget: $220,000

Staff:
Jackie Krawczak, Executive Director
Jeri Jo Standen, Administrative Assistant
Deb Page, Bookkeeper
Amanda Cook, Event Coordinator

Chamber Signature Events:
Annual Dinner, FLOG Fest, Good Morning Alpena, Holiday and Fourth of July Parades, USO Show

Affiliations:
Foundation: No
Service Corporation: No
Ambassador Committee: Yes
Convention & Visitors Bureau: No
Economic Development: Yes
Political Action Committee: Yes

What are the top three organizational priorities for your chamber this year?
1. Membership Development – continually improve current benefits, seek new opportunities for members
2. Government Affairs – become a stronger, more unified voice for the business community in NE Michigan at the local, state, and national level
3. Board Development – create a more cohesive and active board working toward a more focused agenda for the business climate in NE MICH

What is your biggest obstacle to membership development and retention?
Our biggest obstacle currently is the poor economy. Many businesses would like to continue to support their local chamber, but when the decision comes down to paying an electric bill, or paying chamber dues, the choice is obvious. We do as much as we can to ease the economic pain, but there are few short term solutions that give businesses immediate or even temporary relief. Most of what we do is long term and not as tangible as businesses may want or need in this economy.

What do you see as the most pressing challenge for businesses in your community?
The most challenging thing for businesses in Alpena is their geographic isolation. Although there are several ways to connect to Alpena, especially with technology, there are major issues with many of those ways. Northeast Michigan has very poor broadband/fiber infrastructure compared to other areas; there are only two lane highways to drive to Alpena; although shipping is an option for transportation we are ten miles in on a bay; we have rail but it is not well-maintained; and we have air service but it can be very costly from such a small airport. Finding ways to get around these obstacles is a challenge for many businesses. For the chamber, creating awareness on some of these issues is also a challenge in order to garner support because people simply don’t know what they don’t know. They may not realize what more fiber and better internet speeds could do for their organization; they may not realize what establishing a deep water port could do for the local economy.

What has been your biggest success over the last 12 months?
Maintaining our budget and remaining fiscally sound in tough economic times. It is a difficult time but by finding ways we can save, continuously evaluating our programs for effectiveness, and looking for innovative ways to increase benefits, we have managed to do well financially over the past twelve months. This leads to more investment into our membership and happier members.

How do you see the future of chambers and the chamber profession evolving over the next 3-5 years?
The chamber profession, like all professions, will have to evolve continuously in order to serve their customers. Much like the state of Michigan, Chambers will have to diversify, particularly in their services. I believe chambers will also have to play an important leading role in changing the way our political system works. Businesses are the backbone to our economy. Small businesses and new start-ups, particularly, will help to drive the economy forward, and therefore businesses should be able to position themselves (through their chamber) to have more influence over what decisions are made at the local, state and federal levels to ensure appropriate choices are made to help businesses find the resources they need to succeed.