Before you get too excited about the headline, let me make it clear…there are no hidden subliminal messages in the lettuce of the salads at Chamber lunches. I can’t vouch for the rice pudding, but the salads are safe.
Actually, I’m using the bait of a non-existent juicy secret to get your attention long enough to tell you about some rather routine policies and practices at our lunches that we’re often questioned about.
In order to cover some costs of the lunches that are not covered by those attending the lunch, we sell a sponsorship. This keeps your lunch costs down. In exchange the sponsor gets 5 minutes to talk to you, the ability to hang banners or signs, and the right to place material on the banquet tables. Anytime a non-sponsor distributes materials on the banquet tables it dilutes the value of the sponsorship.
At locations with adequate space, we provide a “member table” outside the banquet room where members may place printed materials. We ask all members to cooperate and to only place their materials where they are allowed. Our sponsors are providing an important service to the Chamber and they deserve the full impact of their sponsor dollar.
You’ve probably noticed lately that we’ve been using a sticker system at check-in to identify those that have properly checked in for the lunch. I’ve hated to do this, but unfortunately too many people have not been paying for their lunch and we’ve had to tighten our processes. The problem seems to vary from location to location, so it’s equally possible that some people just pass by the lunch check-in table unaware of what they’ve done as it is possible that some people need a check your honesty table. I prefer to think, and sincerely hope that it’s an oversight that we’re helping some to correct.
One frequently asked question is how we choose the locations where we hold our lunches. We have a number of criteria, the most important being that the facility is a member of the Chamber. We put some significant demands on our “hosts” with the number of people we need to accommodate and the short amount of time we have to get 150 of us through a buffet line. We try to book a block of dates at each qualifying and interested location but sometimes scheduling conflicts do create a situation where we bounce around town now and then. The choice of some locations is driven by special events or special needs related to the program. This is the case with our annual luncheon at the Festival of Trees.
Remember, the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce is more than a good lunch!
