I had a meeting this past Friday with a Chamber of Commerce Executive who has presided over a Chamber that has put on many great events and has an energetic presence in a vibrant community. My meeting was with Shelby McNamara, the President of the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce and we talked about the way Chambers work and how relevant they can be to the community. It was a great meeting and was validating on many levels. It is my sincere hope that the meeting was as productive for her as it was for me.

This is one of the reasons why Chambers of Commerce are so vital to the communities that they serve. This two hour meeting on a rainy Friday in California will now generate results that benefit the Membership in New Paltz, NY and Danville, CA. I will implement some of the ideas that we discussed, develop some further, and find a way to use some of them in support of our Members.

What is one of the biggest things that I walked away with from this meeting? That there are Chambers that are experiencing the same difficulties that we do, that they experience the success that we often achieve, and that through hard work and dedication obstacles are pushed aside and greater success is achieved. I'm excited to put the wheels in motion on some of the ideas that were generated in this meeting.

The work has already begun and the expected results, if achieved, will be outstanding. This happened because of a meeting where two people were able to throw ideas around in an informal setting. I encourage you to apply that theory to any meeting you may have this week. Have a great meeting and a great week.