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Editorials
Town Chamber plans to fly independently
In the Los Gatos business community, it's a daily struggle to survive the contemporary trend toward corporate takeovers and an ongoing battle to maintain individual identity when corporate identity is becoming the standard.
So it's hardly surprising that the Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce wasn't going to be satisfied forever as a subsidiary of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.
That the Town Chamber has chosen to leave the nest just three years after the San Jose Chamber took the local business community under its protective wing is a testament not only to the leadership of the Town Chamber, but to the organization that breathed life into it.
When Steve Tedesco, president and CEO of the San Jose Chamber, announced the formation of the Town Chamber which would exist under the umbrella of the larger organization, he believed that other small Chambers would be inspired to crawl under the same umbrella.
It seemed a good bet. After all, the once venerable Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce had literally gone out of business from lack of interest, failing membership, and finally, financial debt. One had to wonder, was this the wave of the future?
The steady and enthusiastic growth of the new Town Chamber suggests it was not. Why its predecessor died, however, is a question local business leaders would do well to never stop asking.
The former Chamber's leadership had been around a long time; many were just tired of doing all the work. It had become less and less a voice for the business community and was viewed as the organization that "took care of" all sorts of duties in the town.
Tedesco is correct when he says a major contribution of his organization was convincing the local business community it could not support more than one organization.
But we think an even more important contribution was putting together a strong board of directors that brought new energy and a high degree of professionalism to the new Chamber. Some of the new directors had roots in the San Jose Chamber.
Is the Town Chamber declaring its independence prematurely? We hope not. And we think not.
The Chamber boasts not just a strong board, but an energetic executive in Sheri Lewis. The organization has become a major player in local politics and is considered the voice of the business community.
What will make or break the Chamber is membership. With its 300-plus members, it's well on its way to financial stability, but membership closer to 500 is what is really needed.
The Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, after July 1, will no longer be a subsidiary of a larger Chamber. It will be on its own, and whether it soars or crashes is in the hands of local business people.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
