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Town Chamber declares its independence in July
By Dale Bryant
After three years as a part of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Los Gatos Chamber will become an independent organization July 1.
That wasn't the game plan when the larger organization created the Town Chamber after the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce went out of business. "We originally saw them being part of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber," says Steve Tedesco, president-CEO of the larger Chamber. "But looking back on it, I realize everything we did was to recreate the Los Gatos Chamber."
From the beginning of the relationship, the Los Gatos organization had its own board or directors with autonomy for setting its own agenda for the Los Gatos business community. San Jose Chamber staff provided administrative services, such as accounting and membership records, insurance, some member benefits and nonprofit status.
Revenue of the Town Chamber comes from a variety of sources, including membership fees, proceeds from fundraising events, such as the annual golf tournament and monthly mixers and sponsorships for the holiday carriage ride program. The Chamber also has a contract with the town of Los Gatos to create economic development brochures and operate a community resource helpline that fields more than 5,000 information and referral calls a year.
Tedesco believes the turning point came about a year ago when Linda Asbury, the local Chamber's first executive, left. She worked at the San Jose office. "When Linda left and we hired Sheri [Lewis], I no longer had ongoing contact with Los Gatos." Lewis was hired as a half-time director in Los Gatos, but never worked out of the San Jose office.
Tedesco says he hopes that those who were critical of the local Chamber's connection to San Jose will now get involved. "There are still people in Los Gatos who think my intent was to take over the Los Gatos Chamber," he says. "To some people, we were the 900-pound gorilla. Maybe some of those business people who were worried that it wasn't really 'their' Chamber will want to join now that I'm out of it."
Lewis also hopes that the Town Chamber's independence will spur membership. "We are a young organization with a big vision, and we need everyone's participation to be successful," she says. Membership is at approximately 300. The Chamber recently added a membership director and several part-time sales people.
Josh Miller, chairman of the Town Chamber acknowledges the value of the San Jose Chamber's support for the past three years. "Los Gatos owes a debt of gratitude to the San Jose Chamber and Steve Tedesco for their leadership in establishing an organization to serve and support our business community."
Tedesco says he believes one of the more valuable contributions his organization made to the local Chamber was to convince the Los Gatos business community that the town was not large enough to support more than one business organization.
At the time the former Chamber of Commerce went out of business, there was also a Los Gatos Downtown Association and a Los Gatos Boulevard Community Alliance. Both the LGBA and the BCA disbanded shortly after the Chamber shut its doors.
Although the separation from the San Jose Chamber is targeted for July 1, Tedesco says his organization is willing to stay involved as long as necessary to ensure a smooth transition, including up-to-date databases.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
