The
roots of the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce reach back to the
early 1900s. The current corporation, however, was formally organized
in 1971, and the chamber is entering its fourth decade of service.
The chamber has undergone considerable change over the years. As
community needs have changed, the chamber has adjusted its focus to
better serve these needs.
This
brief history will trace the chamber's first two decades and describe
the course it has outlined for the decade ahead, but first, it is
important to clarify just what a chamber of commerce is.
A chamber
of Commerce is a voluntary association of business people created to
maintain and improve the marketplace. It is not a state agency. Funding
comes from membership and service fees.
The first formal records of an organization of business were kept by a
group of merchants established in Marseille, France in 1599. They had a
meeting place (a chamber) for discussions on trade (on commerce) and
named it the Chambre de Commerce.
Its purpose was to identify issues of common concern, to focus the
group's attention on these issues, and to make improvements no single
merchant could reasonably achieve alone. The need for cooperation on
economic issues was so clear in this country that there was a chamber
of commerce before it was called the United States. A chamber of
commerce was formed in New York in 1768, eight years before the
Declaration of Independence was signed.
Business people know that they must operate in a viable market. There must
be people producing goods and services; and if people are going to live and
work in the market place, the quality of life must be good. The chamber of
Commerce is the vehicle through which business people can pool their resources;
time, talent and money; to improve the community on which they and
their employees depend. The chamber of Commerce is the vehicle through which
businesses can identify new trends and conditions which will affect their ability
to be successful. It is a place they can make adjustments in the face of economic
change.
Before The Central Vermont Chamber
The
Barre and Montpelier chambers of commerce served their respective
communities for decades. They served at a time when issues were local
and action in the city had little effect on neighboring communities.
They served at a time when it was rare for a civic leader to contribute
time or experience to assist a "rival" community. They served their era
well.
By the 1960s, the economy of the region had undergone
dramatic change, however. Decades of growth in the auto industry made
it possible, even likely, that the people employed in one market place
would reside in another. The sharp divisions between governmental
boundaries were becoming blurred economically. Trade and commerce were
increasingly intermunicipal, increasingly regional.
Although competition between Barre and Montpelier was fierce, there
were also numerous economic and community issues that refused to be
confined by political boundaries. Barre, Montpelier and surrounding
communities had concerns which needed to be addressed on a regional
basis. The chambers of commerce of Barre and Montpelier were merged to
form the Central Vermont chamber in 1971. A new era of chamber history
had begun.
A Difficult Road: 1970's
In
the finest tradition of anticipating emerging trends and providing
leadership for the future, the chamber was thinking regionally before
there was widespread acceptance of the value in doing so.
Creativity and vision must be tempered by reality. Reality in a
voluntary association like the chamber is that members are free to
disassociate themselves from it, and many did
Although the new chamber of Commerce attempted to ease the transition
by maintaining separate offices in Barre and Montpelier for several
years, it could not avoid numerous resignations of members who felt
their interests would no longer be served by a regional organization.
The chamber's consolidation of offices in Berlin in the mid-1970s
prompted another wave of resignations for similar reasons.
The new chamber's first decade was devoted largely to selling the
concept that the communities of Central Vermont had a variety of common
concerns which had to be addressed collectively and cooperatively if
the individual communities were to prosper. Perhaps the achievements of
the '70s should have made the value obvious.
During the decade, the chamber successfully promoted tourism throughout
the region. It launched the Central Vermont Economic Development
Corporation. It played a key role in developing the region's
transportation system. And it implemented administrative efficiencies
which would have been impossible in two separate organizations.
In the face of all its success, the chamber constantly battled the
backlash of the merger, and barely maintained the same level of
membership that had existed prior to unification. It had, however, set
the stage for the 1980s, a decade when the cloud of parochialism
finally began to dissipate.
Decade of Growth: 1980's
As
the importance of regional issues gained broader acceptance, the
chamber embarked on a decade of unprecedented expansion. A concerted
effort launched in 1980 nearly doubled the chamber's membership. These
new members provided the organization not only with an important
financial boost, but also with a tremendous influx of volunteer energy
and creativity.
In short order, the chamber had begun
regular production of the type of community information book that had
helped attract Bombardier in the late 1970s. It had printed the first
four-color, regional travel guide. The chamber began providing team
consultation to business owners who sought to expand their operations.
It offered the same consultation to prospective startup companies.
The chamber launched Central Vermont Magazine, the first regional magazine in Vermont.
The chamber initiated monthly mixers so that business people could
become better acquainted with their peers. Through participation in
grand openings and by conducting an annual business recognition dinner,
the chamber helped make the public more aware of the contribution small
businesses make to the quality of life in Central Vermont. It opened a
regular dialogue between business leaders and state legislators through
its legislative breakfast series.
The chamber compiled economic and demographic data for use by
decision-makers in business, government, and planning. In addition to
these and other programs conducted by the Chamber, the association also
cooperated with a number of other organizations on successful joint
ventures.
By coordinating educational programs for teachers and students, the
chamber helped bridge the gap between academics and employment. Working
with the Friends of the Vermont Statehouse, the legislature and the
Sergeant-at-Arms, the chamber was able to help open the statehouse to
visitors on Saturdays during the summer months. Under contract with the
city, the chamber began helping Montpelier welcome lawmakers to the
community for each legislative session.
With the Barre Area Development Corporation and the Central Vermont
Economic Development Corporation, the chamber helped phase out the
inventory tax in Barre City and Barre Town.
And in conjunction with five municipalities, the Washington County
legislative delegation and numerous state officials, the chamber helped
convince Governor Kunin to designate Central Vermont as an "economic
growth center." This designation saves local taxpayers more than
$500,000 on their share of state highway projects.
Entering the 1980s, the chamber invested less than $50,000 a year in
shaping the region's economy. By the end of the decade, the annual
investment was more than $250,000, and the annual return on that
investment was more than a million additional dollars in the region's
economy and hundreds of new jobs for residents.
Among the growing companies which had received information or
assistance from the chamber were Bombardier, Ben & Jerry's, Midas
Muffler, and Karl Suss. More than a dozen motels and restaurants opened
or expanded. Unemployment at the beginning of the decade had been twice
the national rate. By the end of the decade, it was half the national
average. Per capita income in the region had reached the highest level
in history, and the average annual gain was far better than the nation
as a whole. It truly was a decade of growth ­p; for the chamber
and for the local economy.
The 1990's
One
other achievement of the late-1980s was a thorough and thoughtful look
at the challenges which lay in wait during the 1990s. A committee of
officers and past presidents spent nearly a full year analyzing the
trends of the 1980s, the current economic climate, and the prospects
for the 1990s. The recommendations were varied, but one central theme
emerged clearly: the chamber must become an even more proactive
advocate for business and the economy in the decade ahead.
The committee found that even the chamber's most successful past
initiatives would be severely jeopardized by growing public belief that
economic expansion is an inevitable, unstoppable and undesirable force
in the Central Vermont region. During the economic spurt of the 1980s,
many residents (and legislators) lost their sense of history. They
forgot the double digit unemployment Vermont had suffered just a few
years earlier. They forgot how hard it had been to make Vermont more
attractive to employers. The strong economic climate was taken for
granted.
While
other political issues reaped the rewards of economic growth,
development itself was all too often being viewed with contempt.
Supporting business was not in fashion during the late 1980s or early
1990s. The chamber was one of very few voices for business, and the
chamber's planning committee concluded the organization had to provide
even louder voice in the future.
Someone must remind
local and state officials that business cannot bear all the costs of
improving Vermont's infrastructure and preserving its environment. The
committee concluded that business people shared other Vermonters'
dreams for their communities ­p; affordable housing, ample
employment opportunities, good schools and a quality environment.
They then defined the chamber's overall mission for the 1990s as
follows. "The role of the Central Vermont chamber of Commerce will be
to serve as the catalyst between regional dreams and the regional
reality." The panel also concluded that making the dream a reality
required strong public support for development rather than continued
opposition to it.
In
order to make the dreams reality, the chamber has focused its advocacy
on the following areas identified in the committee's final report,
Blueprint for the Next Century.
Employment needs of Vermont's expanding resident population must be met by the creation of new employment opportunities.
To
provide housing and employment opportunities, there must be a positive
attitude toward development, suitable sites for construction, the
infrastructure to support them, and a more reasonable permit process.
- The region will need to create as many as 400 or more new housing units annually.
- Employment may need to grow by more than 700 new jobs each year.
- Employment
growth is most rapid in the trade and service sectors. The public must
become more aware of the importance of this employment.
- Local and regional planners must incorporate economic development in the planning process.
- Incentives must be offered to encourage regional facilities and services in order to maintain quality and contain costs.
- The depreciation of public facilities should be reflected in the annual operating expenses of these facilities.
- Local
issues (including aesthetics and natural resource protection) in Act
250 review should be dealt with on the local and regional level.
- Technical assistance and permit advocacy should be available to developers.
- Duplication in the permit process must be eliminated.
- The
progress on these fronts is reflected in the Regional Plan and in the
creation of the Central Vermont Economic Plan, but there is still much
to be done. The new century will see a continuation of the chamber's
vitally important promotional programs. However, the organization will
also need to address the fundamental issues regarding development more
emphatically than ever. The chamber will work to see that public
planning, regulations, and tax policies work hand in hand with
promotion and development efforts - rather than undermining them.
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