Chamber volunteers and event participants will notice changes this year, some significant and some minor.

Of significance will be the changes to our committee structure and the elimination of standing committees and meetings. As has become standard practice at many progressive Chambers and associations, standing committees are being replaced by task forces.

In the past, the Chamber's committees such as Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Economic Development would have recurring monthly meetings, sometimes whether there was a reason to meet or not. Each of those committees corresponded with a division of the same name. It created redundancy and inefficiencies which limited the Chamber's effectiveness.

The new structure reduced the number of divisions from six to four which include Chamber Development, Community Development, Economic Development & Infrastructure and Government Affairs. Task forces can be created and dissolved as necessary and will fall under the supervision of our four division Vice Chairmen.

For instance, if the Chamber needs to take action on I-49 or the North-South Corridor, those members who are experts on that area or who are interested in assisting with a project will be invited to a meeting that will only pertain to that particular subject. They will meet as often as necessary until the task is complete and at which point, the task force will discontinue meeting.

"We are trying to empower our membership to take more ownership of some issues that they are passionate about," explained Chamber CEO Drake Pothier. "Our old structure automatically eliminated some volunteers from participating because they could not meet at 7:45 on Wednesdays for instance."

The task forces and their issue "Champions" will have the flexibility to work around their own schedules.

In regards to events, the most significant change to the Chamber's monthly calendar is the elimination of Business After Hours as a recurring Chamber event.

Business After Hours has been a long-standing event at the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber --- as it has been at Chambers across the country. In 2011, the Chamber's Membership Benefits Task Force began evaluating each event and program that the Chamber was currently offering. Additionally, membership surveys were used to determine which events and programs the members valued the most. Business After Hours consistently ranked at or near the bottom of every list.

The monthly networking event is being replaced by a quarterly evening event which will combine the networking opportunities of Business After Hours with the marketing opportunities of a small business expo. The new event will be called the Membership Marketplace and will offer an opportunity for a number of businesses to promote their goods and services through expo booths or table top displays while the networking aspect of the event takes place around them.

"The Membership Marketplace will inject business back into our traditional Business After Hours. We believe that the expo-feel of the event will be a huge selling point for some members who are looking for a new opportunity to meet new business clients," said Pothier.

Membership Marketplace will take place at some of our areas fantastic hotel properties. Dates for these events have not yet been set but stay tuned for more information.

The Chamber's other monthly events, General Membership Luncheon and Business2Business, will continue to be held without change.

The same cannot be said for the Chamber's annual golf tournament. For the past three years, the Chamber Golf Classic has been held in September. In 2012, the event has been moved to June 4 and will hopefully remain as an early-summer event for years to come.

A save the date card will be mailed for the golf tournament in late January. More information will also be sent shortly on the Membership Marketplace as well as the dates of our other upcoming events.

If you have any questions about the Chamber's task forces or events, please call 985-876-5600 or visit the website at HoumaChamber.com.

News & Notes

To date, 103 businesses joined the Chamber in 2011 making it one of our most successful recruitment years ever. Thanks for the support of our new and existing members.