Chamber analyzes possible collaboration

At their regular meeting on April 11, the Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce continued discussion regarding a possible collaboration between the four entities of the chamber, Economic Development Corporation, Travel and Tourism, and Thermopolis Main Street.

The idea was first presented at the chamber’s March 14 meeting, where it was decided to further examine how the collaboration would impact the chamber. To that end, chamber members used the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) method.

Among the strengths presented were: leadership, having a defined role, value-added membership, being a hub of communication, providing networking and connections on a local and state level, cohesion among the members and the chamber’s long-running history of 100 years in the community.

Weaknesses include: having an overworked director and stretched donor base, complacency, self-promotion and having a small social media presence.

Opportunities include: having only one paid due for members, the ability to develop a foundation as a grant-receiving entity, being a “one stop shop,” expanse and growth of membership and a great span of control with additional people to discuss ideas.

The threats include: less face-to-face contact, continued population and business loss, personalities clashing and the idea that the collaboration would not work.

Moving forward, plans are to further investigate options, which could include visits with representatives from communities where collaborations are being formed or separated.

Another issue discussed at the meeting was the fact that many of the same people on every board. In light of the discussion of collaboration and what might help, Greg Willson suggested going out and talking to people who might be civic-minded and interested in getting involved, and recruiting them. He further noted the chamber is losing four board members in October, and it’s not too early to start identifying those who could be on the slate of candidates to fill the vacancies.