Letter From the President

By now many of you know of the Chamber’s investment of energy in a strategic planning process designed to give us direction for the years ahead.

So much has changed over the last few years that late in 2009 our board set the course to examine how we can best achieve for you as a Chamber and how we can better influence outcomes that positively affect Dallas and the region.

Early this year we entered into an arrangement with the Boston Consulting Group to help us formulate such a plan. We will use the Chamber’s strengths in selected areas of activity such as economic development and working on sound public policy matters to improve the business environment and our quality of life and place. What we work on specifically depends to a great extent on feedback from a wide variety of member investors.

That is why many of you were asked to participate in surveys to give your views about where we stand in the community, our value added propositions, and where you think we need to be focused. This is important because while we are a large chamber we need to prioritize our actions in order to match our efforts with our capacity in terms of people and capital.

I am pleased to report that hundreds of responses have been received to the email requests for participation, so thank you for your help. The responses are now being compiled and will become part of the overall record used in putting the plan together. We surveyed member companies, potential members, and former members to analyze their status.

In addition, more than 40 individuals from the business community of the region have agreed to spend from 45 minutes to an hour with in-person interviews by BCG. These are underway at this time. And, BCG is interviewing select chambers and other well-known business organizations from across the region.

Finally, the surveys will include extensive interviews with five other larger chambers across the United States that are peer related as to size and activities of the Dallas Regional Chamber. This will give us added detail as we consider the scope of activities in relation to others.

The effort is being led by the Future Committee of the DRC, and chaired by Peter Beck, Managing Director of The Beck Group. It is comprised of a group of assembled executive committee and board members, with some non-board participants added in as well. This group, which has already had its initial meeting and focus group sessions, will meet periodically through the spring and summer to help form recommendations for the plan. The plan will go to the full board in September.

In the meantime, as all of this activity results in immediate additions to our “improve and do” lists (of a non-policy making variety), we will implement efficiency and functional changes along the way rather than waiting until the plan is officially adopted. So we will waste no time in making changes to make our operations better.

By the end of summer we should have a very good idea of our new directions. The staff of the Chamber, and I believe all of the participants in the strategic planning effort are very excited about our future, our city and the region. We have had some great decades of growth and prosperity in the past, but I have the distinct belief that we will soon be ready to participate more effectively in what might become the greatest decade of growth in this region’s history. We are glad to be involved with you, our investors, in making it so!

A special note of interest: Former Mayor of Dallas, now Ambassador and United States Trade Representative, the Honorable Ron Kirk returns to Dallas to give an address on Keeping America Competitive: Lessons from the Global Economy at the World Affairs Council event, in cooperation with the Dallas Regional Chamber, on Friday, April 16th at noon at the Hilton Anatole. In addition, the 2010 International Educator of the Year Award recipient will be announced. For registration and additional information, please go to www.dfwworld.org.

Sincerely,

Amb. James C. Oberwetter
President
Dallas Regional Chamber