GLENDALE : Chamber Undergoes Reorganization

In an effort to make the Glendale Chamber of Commerce more member friendly, officials are restructuring the organization to include fewer divisions and more feedback from its 1,600 members.

Reorganization efforts were initiated by Ron Watson, the new executive vice president, who came to the chamber six weeks ago from Reno where he was the chief executive officer of that city’s chamber for 11 years. Watson replaced Aulden Schlatter who retired in March, 1993, after 27 years.

Officials decided to revamp the chamber after business representatives who replied to membership surveys said they did not believe the organization was responsive to their needs, Watson said.

“There wasn’t a real high perception of the value of their membership--we weren’t communicating what they were supposed to be deriving from us,” he said.

The chamber--which represents about 250 business categories including retail, hotels and restaurants--is also struggling to overcome the repercussions of the disastrous 1992 Glenfest celebration.

The chamber lost about $230,000 and suffered a blow to its reputation after the street celebration--which was supposed to garner about $1 million--went awry.

Watson plans to reorganize the chamber by paring down its six major divisions to four. The new divisions include, business development, public affairs, member services and local concerns.

Under a new logo to be designed by a marketing committee, the chamber will ask its members to serve on task forces that will provide the board with feedback about local business concerns and pending legislation, Watson said.

In an effort to promote Glendale, chamber officials are advertising for a publisher to put together a 200-page hardcover book featuring photographs taken by local artists and copy written by community members.

The limited edition book, of which officials plan to print about 4,000 copies, is scheduled to be in bookstores sometime next fall.

The chamber also plans to sponsor a program to recognize future community leaders. The program will search rosters of volunteer organizations to determine which members may be leaders in the next three years, Watson said.

These future leaders will then be invited to workshops, and upon graduation will have their name publicized by the chamber to be used by organizations searching for leaders, he said.