The Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce is asking the Seacoast community to assist in a community-driven comprehensive strategic planning process, MISSION FORWARD. By focusing on the community and utilizing today’s technological resources, MISSION FORWARD’s goal is to revolutionize the organization, creating new opportunities for engagement by a broader group of community businesses with present and future business leaders.
Valerie Rochon, President and Ben VanCamp, Vice President, Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, announced the plans for MISSION FORWARD this week. Leading up to the Chamber’s 100th Anniversary this summer, Rochon and VanCamp recognize it is time for the Chamber to re-examine its programs and services so it can best serve today’s evolving community.
Getting Started
In November 2016 the Chamber staff, with the support of the Board of Directors, organized a steering committee made up of a diverse collection of community leaders, government officials, and Chamber members and non-members. Its goal is to lead the organization through a comprehensive, transformative strategic planning process. This process has been named “MISSION FORWARD.”
“One of the main tenets of our planning process is engagement from the community. Our absolute goal is to be a better community partner” explains Rochon. “The Chamber is known and respected for some great programming, such as our Breakfast Forums, Small Business Seminars, Legislative Initiatives, Restaurant Week, Hit The Decks, Fashion’s Night Out, Tourism Summit and Visitors Services –but we know we need to improve our programming for more of our base. We need to hear from both members and non-members to better understand and address their future needs.”
Moving Forward
The Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce is reaching out with the goal of creating dynamic services and programming for a broader base of the Seacoast community. The community will be asked to provide input through:
- Membership Surveys
- Leadership Surveys
- Industry Focus Groups
- Community Forums
When the data is collected, the Chamber will share the information with the community at-large. “We are targeting areas of industry where we already have members and leaders, as well as industries who aren’t involved with the Chamber yet, so we can learn from them and better serve them” explains VanCamp.
