Our North County Young Professionals Group is now on Twitter. Please follow them at http://ping.fm/BAMFP

Welcome New Chamber Member, IdeaArc, publishers of Verizon Yellow Pages...http:www.idearc.com

Working on moving Chamber Blog over to Wordpress.org. Many great features that will allow us to Blog in a powerful way!

Good article by Chamber Member Angela Nielsen, @onelily, on Choosing your Domain Name...
http://is.gd/1ckPH

Exciting Developments for Business Showcase Blog

Mark Baldin of AerAlliance has created a great new look for our S.D. Business Showcase Blog...http://ping.fm/yl9BJ. We now have the opportunity to add many new functions. As we did last year, we will provide all exhibitors with user names and passwords so they can login and add posts to the blog. This provides a great way for exhibitors to get a whole year's worth of exposure for the price of booth space at a one day event!

We'll also be adding opportunies for exhibitors and sponsors to place display ads and video ads on the site. Stay tuned for more details.

Great job by Tri-City Wellness Ctr on 4-chamber mixer. Photos now available on Facebook at ...http://ping.fm/nrpsD

Tonight-Annual 4 Chamber Mixer - Several hundred people. Tri-City Wellness Center, 6250 El Camino Real, Carlsbad. Come out and network from 4pm to 7pm.

Just got the Chamber set up on Ping.fm. What a great tool for getting the word out to all your social media sites at one time. Having trouble getting it to talk to our Facebook Fan Page though. Can anyone help?

What is the Oceanside Chamber?

Today, the Chamber celebrated the Installation of our new Board of Directors, said thank you to some outgoing Board Members and recognized some key community leaders. First I would like to offer the following congratulations:

Business of the Year: Pacific Marine Credit Union
Ambassador of the Year: Joan Burns
Volunteer of the Year: Chip Dykes

The event was great and photos are available on our Facebook page. However, the reason I'm writing this post is not to necessarily speak about the event itself, but rather to talk about the speech made by our outgoing Board Chair, Bruce Tait. I have worked at the Oceanside Chamber for 13 years and I don't think I have ever heard the Chamber described better than how Bruce explained it today.

Bruce has graciously allowed me to share his speech on the Chamber Blog, so I would ask you to please take a few minutes to read the following, as I feel it will help you connect with the true purpose of your Chamber...

Some of you may think that a farewell speech may be about my term in office, but I’m not really going to talk about that. But I do have a question to ask: What IS this Oceanside Chamber of Commerce? What would make a person want to join this Chamber? What would make someone want to volunteer to spend dozens or hundreds of hours a year with an organization?

The surveys all say that the primary thing that people want out of a Chamber of Commerce is networking. But, I believe that it takes more than just networking to keep bringing members back. But, what IS it about this Chamber of Commerce?!

Perhaps we need to look outside the Chamber for the answers. Maybe we should ask the students in the school district who received scholarships from the Chamber what it means to them. Possibly we should ask the schools who received grants what the Chamber is and does.
Or, what about asking the citizens of Oceanside if they like having more tax dollars in the City’s accounts for police, fire and fixing the potholes in front of their homes. After all, the California Welcome Center, operated by the Chamber, brings in hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in direct and indirect additional tax money due to the tourism advertising and marketing that they do. They might say that the Chamber is acting on behalf of the community and promoting an enhanced quality of life.

Or you could ask the family who spent the day at Harbor Days, watched a pirate battle, a nail and sail contest, or climbed on the Camp Pendleton LCAC hovercraft, what they thought about the event or the organization that sponsored it.

When they first moved to the area after being stationed in Camp Pendleton, most Marine Corps and Navy families had never heard of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. But we wanted to show our appreciation for families who were willing to join a team. A team that was willing to put themselves in harms way to defend the values and way of life that make this County so great. So the Chamber of Commerce has been providing food and entertainment at Operation Appreciation and hosting golf events for enlisted personnel for many years.

Perhaps we should ask the enlisted men and women honored at the quarterly breakfasts: Who is that Chamber of Commerce?!

If you were to ask an attendee at the Chamber hosted Health Fair, they might say that the Chamber is an organization that promotes an enhanced quality of life.

Those who watched the Council and Mayoral Candidates forum might have a slightly different answer. They may have watched the forum, co-hosted by the Chamber, and say: Wow, they sure asked a lot of questions about the candidate’s positions regarding business in Oceanside. They sure are promoting a strong business climate.

Maybe we should ask the residents in the western portion of the 760 area code (that’s us by the way) if they wanted to change their area code and have to change the phone numbers on all their websites, letterheads, envelopes, business cards, etc. They might say that the Chamber promoted a better business climate by being part of a team lead by Assemblyman Garrick’s office in opposing the area code split.

The supporters of the Oceanside Malkin Hotel project might say that the Chamber took a leadership role in teaming with the Oceanside Hotel Coalition and also in obtaining signatures on a letter from 22 elected officials in Southern California supporting the project at the California Coastal Commission.

Our members would probably say that by expressing our opinion in letters to local, state and federal officials, we provide a collective voice in speaking in support of business friendly proposals and against those that would harm the health of our business community.

How about if we bring up the question a little bit closer to home? Let’s ask the business members who went to the North County Business Showcase and
• Gained more leads than in any other one day show that they had been to
• Had incredible turn outs at their booths
• made over 200 new contacts and obtained a record amount of solid leads, and
• said the show was well-organized and it was run smoothly by very professional staff, and
• said they would recommend this show to anyone wishing to conduct business in the area, and
• received over 200 inquiries and a number of immediate orders, resulting in new clients, referrals, and future business.

Or as one of the less shy new members of our Board had said: “You guys rock!” I think that translates to: “You promote a strong business climate.” “You rock” sounds better though!

Another question you might want to ask our members is: how about the Chamber’s ability to educate its members in areas applicable to their businesses? They might answer by “tweeting”, a skill that is soon to be taught in Chamber classes, or by sharing on Facebook, or on LinkedIn, or by blogging, all currently available on the Chamber website.

Oh.. And by the way, our members are happy about the networking opportunities. As you can see on our website, they’ve said things like...

"The Chamber’s recent 5 minute networking event provided a return on my investment in merely 5 days. The contacts made were invaluable and I will certainly participate again."

"Since joining we have gained many new clients and have received over a 40:1 return on investment. I wish there were more organizations as professional and as proactive as yours."

"35% of our contact database are contacts made as a direct result of our participation and membership in the Oceanside Chamber! Additionally about 10% of all our clients came from networking at Chamber events and the Chamber's Business Showcase. "

So if you asked around, you might get answers like: The Chamber provides leadership for its members. It provides a collective voice for its members and the community. It promotes a strong business climate. It promotes an enhanced quality of life.

Bruce went on to thank the many volunteers, committee members and board members for making the Chamber what it is.

I want to thank Bruce for helping make our impact on the community so clear in his speech today. Well said Bruce!

Golf with a Hero Raises $4700 for Military Charities!

We are so excited that our Annual Golf with a Hero event is going to help some of our nation's hereos and their families. Due to the generous support of our sponsors, golfers, gift donors and volunteers, we are able to write checks to two local military charities, Camp Pendleton Armed Services YMCA and HirePatriots.com/PatrioticHearts. Both of these organizations provide important services to our military families. Please visit their websites to learn more about them.

The event also provided a very enjoyable day of golf to a great group of Marines. See our complete 2009 photo album on Facebook.

Special thanks to all our sponsors: Corporate Sponsors: Pacific Marine Credit Union, Straub Construction, Inc., Stronghold Engineering, Inc., Sundt Construction. Golf Ball Sponsor: Oshkosh Corporation. Putting Green Sponsor Eternal Hills Memorial Park. Driving Range Sponsor:Watts Constructors/Pave-Tech. Monster Drive Sponsor: Sun Mechanical Company. Tee & Green Sponsors: 1st Pacific Bank, El Camino Rental, FastSigns Vista, HDR Engineering, Mossy Nissan, Navy Federal Credit Union, Ocean's 11 Casino, Pala Casino Resort and Spa, R.A. Burch Construction Co., Inc., San Diego Auto Auction, San Diego Gas & Electric, Seagate Corporate Center, Sun Mechanical Company, U.S. Bank, Waste Management of North County and Wells Fargo Bank.

More Chamber Members Join Twitter!

Since my posting on this topic a couple of weeks ago, I noticed several other Chamber had either joined Twitter, or starting following us. So here's the latest list of Chamber members on Twitter. Please follow them and see what a great business community we have!

http://twitter.com/101Cafe - 101 Cafe
http://twitter.com/BeachSoccer - Oceanside Beach Soccer
http://twitter.com/legoland_ca - Legoland California
http://twitter.com/jerrysalyer - Salyer Insurance
http://twitter.com/GoNCTD - North County Transit District
http://twitter.com/scaldera - Quantum Learning Network
http://twitter.com/401COUNTRYCLUB - Boys & Girls Club of Oceanside
http://twitter.com/SanDiegoBBB - San Diego BBB
http://twitter.com/UnionTribune - San Diego Union Tribune
http://twitter.com/visitsandiego - San Diego Convis
http://twitter.com/Amazeinc - A-MAZEINC Internet Solutions
http://twitter.com/janicex21 - Residence Inn by Marriott Oceanside
http://twitter.com/RIOceanside - Residence Inn by Marriott Oceanside
http://twitter.com/Harney_Sushi - Harney Sushi
http://twitter.com/sddt - The Daily Transcipt
http://twitter.com/nctimes - North County Times
http://twitter.com/cooleremail - Cooler Email
http://twitter.com/jchapon - Quantum Learning Networking
http://twitter.com/DiveandKayak - Oceanside Dive & Kayak
http://twitter.com/onelily - One Lily Web Solutions
http://twitter.com/vespasandiego - Vespa San Diego
http://twitter.com/QuinnsRapidWebs - Quinn's Rapid Recharger
http://twitter.com/sonictweet - Sonic Spider
http://twitter.com/fpandg - Foremost Printing & Graphics
http://twitter.com/BtrVacationRent - Better Vacation Rentals
http://twitter.com/CoCoGal - Coco & Associates, Inc.
http://twitter.com/smartersmallbiz - Smarter Small Business
http://twitter.com/melmoore - Sonic Spider
http://twitter.com/ComputerGeeks - Computer Geeks
http://twitter.com/SuperCamp - Supercamp
http://twitter.com/njrprod - njr productions
http://twitter.com/BobbiDeporter - Quantum Learning Network
http://twitter.com/cvanderpool - Legacy Protective Services
http://twitter.com/davebranfman - Branfman Law Group, P.C.
http://twitter.com/DestinyBoutique - Destiny Boutique
http://twitter.com/henryjordan - Jordan Associates
http://twitter.com/HotelBellRooms - Bell Hotel Housing
http://twitter.com/ipCamz - Premiere Surveillance Systems, LLC
http://twitter.com/jeremyjennings - MailingList.org
http://twitter.com/JoanBurns - Sampson & Associates
http://twitter.com/PWIWORKS - Partnership with Industry
http://twitter.com/RitaSRESRealtor - Rita Harper
http://twitter.com/RyanDHarris - Law Offices of Ryan Harris
http://twitter.com/SantinosPizza - Santino's Pizza
http://twitter.com/WordsINKSD - Words Ink!
http://twitter.com/MissionSLR - Mission San Luis Rey
http://twitter.com/CSofSoCal - Creative Solutions of Southern California

If you belong on this list and we missed you, just email me at scott@oceansidechamber.com. Happy Tweeting.

Plates for 8 are Great!

If you are a Chamber member and have never attended one of our "Plates for 8" Small Group Networking Luncheons, PLEASE try one! These have become our most popular and productive networking event. As Chamber Member Stan Quinn put it in his Twitter posting this morning...

A screen shot (even 140 characters) is worth a thousand words. But in case this screen shot is too small for you to read, Stan was saying "Oside Chamber Plates for 8. One of the best networking functions I attend." Thanks Stan!

What is a Plates for 8? Well, here's how we describe them on the Chamber website: "Plates for 8 Luncheons provide a chance for 8-10 Chamber Members to join for lunch and learn more about each other’s businesses. A Chamber representative hosts and facilitates the “Plates for Eight” luncheon at a local restaurant in order to provide an in depth networking opportunity for a small group of members."

We have two terrific Members Services Representatives, Joanne Harris and Sue Pixler that facilitate these luncheons for us. They each typically run one every month. The feedback we receive on the quality of networking is tremendous. Joanne facilitated one today and apparently an hour and a half was not enough time to contain all the networking that needed to occur. Three of the attendees came back to the Chamber office to continue doing business in our conference room.

What more can I say. You have to eat lunch, so why not do it with 7 or 8 other people who could potentially be great business connections for you. Worst case scenario: you get a great lunch at Hunter Steakhouse and make some new friends.

Social Media is the Great Equalizer!

I just had a thought I wanted to share as I am preparing for a presentation to a group of Chambers in Northern California next week. I have been asked to speak on membership development to a group of small/mid sized chambers.

I have been to numerous Chamber industry conferences over the years as an attendee and a speaker; and one thing I have always noticed is that it can be overwhelming trying to implement what you learn. Representatives from smaller Chambers sometimes feel frustrated hearing presentions from speakers who work for Chambers with muli-million dollar budgets. Many attendees are left with thoughts such as "If I had the financial and staff resources that (fill in the blank) Chamber has, I could do that too, but we have a small budget and just 2 staff members."

Enter the "great equalizer"--- Social Media. In the last couple of months since diving into to social media arena, what has struck me is that it's not the Mega-Chambers that are necessarily standing out in this area, but the brightest stars in this arena seem to be smaller chambers. Most notably are the North Mason Washington Chamber, Clovis California Chamber and the Tempe Arizona Chamber. I purposely did not hyperlink to their websites because I would like you to look them up on Google. When you "google" their names you will see the strong Social Media presence that each of these Chambers has built.

A significant part of my presentation next week will be devoted to the opportunties that Chambers have to help their members grow through Social Media. I passionately believe that all Chambers, regardless of staff size or budget, have the ability to take the lead in this area.

A Great Way to Support our Troops - HirePatriots.com

For those of you looking for a way to support our local Marines & Sailors, I highly recommend you check out HirePatriots.com. This site, operated by Oceanside Chamber members, Mark & Tori Baird, provides a way for local businesses and residents to post job opportunities for our friends on Camp Pendleton.

While you can post permanent jobs on their site too, I have only used their "Day Job" feature. The Chamber frequently needs help with labor at our large community events, such as Harbor Days, the Business Showcase, North County Health Fair and others. We have had great success with the Marines & Sailors we have hired for these positions. I have also posted jobs on their site for yard work at my home, most recently yesterday, and have alway been tremendously pleased with with the quality of work.

The best part about it is you can get help on very short notice. Usually, within a matter of minutes after posting a job, we receive multiple calls. The service that Mark & Tori are providing offers a way for our service people to make a few extra bucks. Next time you need hired help with a project at your office or home, please consider HirePatriots.com.