To the editor,
I read with interest the piece in the September 10 of The Valley Reporter entitled, “As the Chamber evolves, how that impacts The Valley”.
I was stuck that the leadership of the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce is focused on, “ promoting tourism while strengthening village centers, supporting local businesses, protecting natural resources and maintaining the qualities that make the area attractive in the first place”. They should be focused on getting their own house in order.
As reported, the chamber had a deficit last fiscal year of $25.000 (that is 17% of their budget) and only has a reserve of $15,000, which means there is not enough reserve to cover another year of equivalent losses. The membership of the chamber has declined from 185 members to 158, a drop of 15% in recent years. Running deficits and loss of membership are clear indicators that the chamber is going in the wrong direction and changes need to be made.
Our firm Mad River Research used to be a member of the chamber but dropped our membership a number of years ago because it was no longer of value to our business.
I have been the executive director of a number of non-profit organizations in New England, including an anti-poverty agency serving the North Shore of Massachusetts (three cities and a number of towns with a population that would rank as the fourth largest metro population in New England), a non-profit housing organization serving the third largest city in New England and a statewide non-profit organization here in Vermont. Our firm Mad River Research has provided consulting services to states, cities, towns, for-profit firms and non-profits for over 20 years and one of the clear takeaways from my experience is that organizations that run deficits are not and cannot carry out their mission successfully.
I have looked over the chamber’s public filings and its financial picture does not look great. I urge the members and the board of directors of the chamber to take the actions necessary to get their own house in order before messing around in activities like “strengthening village centers and maintaining the qualities of the area’s life”.
Jim Boylan, Waitsfield
