In their search for a new executive director, Iola Chamber of Commerce board members are also doing a little navel-gazing, said Chairman Loren Korte.
Whenever change occurs, especially with staffing, it’s a good time to re-evaluate the position and how it fits within the greater organization.
In his 40-plus years in insurance, Korte has served on numerous boards. Besides the Chamber, Korte is also on the board of trustees with Allen County Regional Hospital. “Now that’s a learning experience,” he said of the health care world.
He also has served on the board of Allen Community College and is involved with several service clubs.
Korte said his favorite organization remains the Chamber.
“Perhaps that’s why I’m still the chairman, no matter how many times I try to step down,” he said.
A born salesman, it’s in Korte’s nature to be a joiner. He doesn’t shy away from responsibility and doesn’t attach a paycheck to its priority. Korte likes everything community, as long as it’s small.
“I tried working in the city once. After three days I called it quits. The city’s not for me,” he said.
FOR SEVERAL reasons — including a decrease in membership and the city’s contribution — the Chamber’s finances are not as robust as usual.
In response, board members reduced the director’s position from full time to part time. “That was the only place we could cut, was payroll,” he said.
Because the board doesn’t expect any significant changes to buffer the budget, the director’s position will be kept part time, Korte said.
Korte said he hoped more Iolans would take a note from Humboldt’s successful all-volunteer Chamber and increase their charitable efforts.
More people volunteering would be great, but that cannot take the place of a paid professional. And the less a Chamber director is involved, the more he or she will be forgotten.
I can take a page from the newspaper industry as an example.
In response to the recession, several newspapers in Kansas, including the Junction City Daily Union, significantly cut back their days of publication. In its transition from five to three days in 2012, the Daily Union assured readers it would not skimp on news.
The change was unpopular among readers and advertisers and the newspaper suffered.
On Sept. 21, the Daily Union resumed publishing five days a week.
“While online and mobile are important aspects, the printed news remains the heart of our business and will likely remain so for some time,” said publisher John Montgomery.
Montgomery learned that the more readers were denied the physical product, the less it served their needs. And my bet is the more the Chamber cuts back services, the less they will be viewed as valuable.
For anyone who deals with the public, consistent “face time” is important. Whether it’s the paper on your doorstep, the preacher in the pulpit, or the Chamber director at civic functions, when the audience comes to depend on a consistent presence it becomes part and parcel of life.
