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Chamber Web site improvements due online in February |
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Monday, 28 January 2008 |
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 Eddie Black, interim executive director of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce, discusses new Web site capabilities for members, a project that will launch in February. (Courier photo by Jillian Duke) By Jillian Duke
Courier Staff Executives of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce have been working hard to make it easy for its members to connect in cyberspace.
Eddie Black, interim executive director, said he’s excited with the new Web site capabilities that will launch in February.
“We’ve grown to a point where part of this business is managing the membership,” he said. “We’re working on making things more efficient and providing services to the membership.”
Membership information has been kept in several places, Black said, such as in Excel spreadsheets and on the current Web directory. Some of the information is not accurate, he said, thus the need for it all to be updated and in one place.
The use of ChamberMaster includes the backend database for member records and Web site, eliminating the need for multiple databases and spreadsheets to manage the chamber, according to the service’s Web site.
“It will make things much easier,” Black said.
Features include a calendar of events component, job postings and local information like weather.
The members also will be able to create individual Web pages, which will allow them to have such things as a link to their businesses.
Black said Chamber-Master representatives will be here next month to contact members and help them become user-friendly with the Web site.
Black noted that additional services, such as ad placements, will be available to members. This service would come with a cost, however.
Revamping this part of the chamber is just one thing going on to improve the organization all around, he said.
The goal of an ongoing capital campaign is to raise about $120,000 to improve the physical look of the chamber office, located at 607 N. Market St. Black said between $60,000 and $70,000 is still needed. He added that the chamber has received numerous in-kind donations.
The exterior has been updated with new gold trim and flower beds and the interior will receive a whole new look, he said. Susan Hale with Creative Paint and Design Co. is serving as project manager.
Emphasis will be placed on gold tones with red accents. In addition to new carpet and paint, the kitchen will receive new countertops and cabinets.
“We want to improve the aesthetics of the interior and bring everything up to date,” he said.
The board room will be “very impressive,” Matt Brumley, chamber president, said.
Black noted, “This is a great building, but this building was built in 1982 and hasn’t been updated.”
The hope of the project is to bring a positive and progressive image to the chamber, Black said.
The chamber is contributing 12.5 percent or $15,000 to the project. Proceeds from each chamber event also will go to the campaign.
Black said members are being encouraged to market the campaign, which will benefit all of the membership in the long run.
While most of the interior work hasn’t begun yet, Black showed how some improvements have been made. The upstairs meeting room has been cleaned out to allow for meetings to be conducted there. Other plans for the loft-like area call for installing a glass partition or something similar to private for additional privacy.
Also new is a projection screen in the conference room.
In other matters, Black said the chamber’s bylaws are being revised to bring the policy and guidelines “up to speed.”
The search for a permanent director has begun, Black said. A 13-member selection committee has been meeting to outline a job description and functions of the prospective director. |
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