And the winner is…
Your Abilene Chamber of Commerce!
Yep, believe it or not, your Chamber has won a couple of awards recently that I believe may be noteworthy – and I’d like to take a moment to explain why.
Often, the professional staff of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce gets so busy “doing it,” that we don’t take the time to tell anyone about “it.” That’s true in most organizations – the speed and intensity of service delivery becomes the focus.
You know those “things Doug’s dad said” I’ve shared with you in the past? Here are a couple more:
“Sometimes you gotta toot your own horn like you’re the only person in the band.” The other that comes to mind is, “always celebrate the wins, regardless of how small.”
Well, I don’t like to toot the horn, but when it comes to bragging on my team, I hope you’ll indulge me. Their accomplishments aren’t small by any measure.
People, I work with some of the most professional, highest achieving, focused and driven individuals on the face of this earth. I’m a better CEO for it, too. This group of folks – whether within the Chamber itself, our Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Abilene Industrial Foundation, the Cultural Affairs Council, MAC – you name it, are unreal. And you know what motivates them?
Simple: Your business. Our community. This economy. Our future.
It isn’t about the awards.
BUT (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?), this win tells me more than that I have an amazing staff. It also tells me that we have immeasurable talent in our community.
So what are the awards?
The Abilene Chamber was recently presented two major awards by our peers across Texas, through our industry association the Texas Chamber Commerce Executives (TCCE).
The first is First Place within all Chambers statewide (even those with marketing and communication teams in the major metros!) in the area of Marketing Campaigns. To see the criteria from which your Chamber was chosen, go here.
The second was a Second Place win in the category of Best Chamber Website in all of Texas. You read that right. ALL. OF. TEXAS. Check out that criteria here. You know what’s particularly awesome about this one? We used a local firm to design and build our website, keeping local dollars local. We should’ve won first here too, but maybe I’m a little biased.
Behind both of these wins is that staff I mentioned earlier, led by our director of marketing and communication Laurin Kocurek, and I’m grateful for her tireless effort to tell our story.
It’s my hope that you’ll help us to tell the story of both our Chamber and our community. Afterall, we’re here as we have been for the last 111 years to help you, your company and our community win. Speak highly of our community every chance you get, and I’d ask that you pitch your Chamber while you’re at it. Afterall, we’re only as strong as our voice, and you are that voice.
Thank you for supporting your Chamber.
Onward!
Doug