November 2020
Chamber Connection
Your connection to the greater Hanover business community.
Chamber News Pages 1-5 Workforce Spotlight Page 4 Ambassador Spotlight Page 4 Member Spotlights Pages 6-7 Business Briefs Page 8 Main Street Hanover Page 9 Upcoming Events Pages 10-11
A Letter from Our President, Gary Laird 2020 was a year like no other. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chamber experienced a busy and fulfilling start, thanks to the support from our members and the community. When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, the Chamber stepped up to take care of members. We created a landing page on our website to disseminate information to the community. We also started sharing information from the U.S. and PA Chambers via weekly email updates, created a group on Facebook for businesses to share information with community members, met with legislators weekly to get on top of the state’s plans, and hosted webinars and town halls to keep our members connected and well-informed. We also supported members and the community through the reopening “green phase” by creating a reopening guide and providing access to valuable resources. To date, we continue to provide valuable and meaningful updates on a weekly basis. On August 30, we closed out the most challenging fiscal year in my 19-year tenure with the Chamber. Moving into the new year, our organization is here to be your voice, sustain business, and be a part of a robust recovery plan. We hope to reestablish our social networking opportunities as soon as it is safe to do so, and we recently started planning our large events for next summer with some new and exciting twists that will be revealed soon. The Chamber’s core business will continue to focus on economic development, financial sustainability, and brand loyalty as established in its 2019-2021 strategic plan (visit the chamber’s website for the plan).
Under economic development, creating a talent pipeline to address workforce needs and downtown revitalization will continue to be key priorities. It is important that we focus on financial growth and sustainability for the Chamber. We continue to accomplish this by transitioning to our value-based dues structure. To date, we have moved approximately 140 of our 450 members to this new dues schedule. It has been well received and provides chamber staff the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with members. This process is very valuable as it gives us a much better understanding of how we can best serve the needs of members. Brand loyalty is articulating the Chamber’s value and impact to the member base and the community. We will continue to engage senior leaders to inform them on the progress of our strategic initiatives. Promoting the Discover Hanover brand through various media channels will continue to benefit local business and the greater Hanover community. There is still uncertainty regarding the timing of our recovery from COVID-19, but we are determined that we will emerge from this experience as a much stronger organization. Our financial position is strong, our board leadership is strong, and our experienced staff is prepared to move the organization forward to best serve our members and the community. Thank you for your support!
Gary Laird President
146 Carlisle Street Hanover, PA 17331 717.637.6130 www.hanoverchamber.com