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 The LCA Board technically referred to as a “Council” was
established in late January of 2015. Their duties were to be to
oversee the Logan County Alliance, which would serve as a unifying
agency working with the Chamber and Logan County Tourism. The LCA
was referred to as the umbrella organization offering oversight, but
not control, of the two other entities. The LCA also had a goal of
working with communities throughout the county to spur economic
growth.
The LCA was formed as a result of the work of the Unified
Organization Committee that was established in 2014. That group
began with representation from throughout the county, including
county board members, city and village mayors and council members,
and others invested in economic growth for the community. The group
started out strong, but late in the process, discontent over the
method for establishing membership into the final organization, as
well as voting power, caused many participants to drop out of the
process.
 The goal had been for each community to invest financially in the
LCA, who would in turn use those funds for economic development.
When the LCA convened in February of 2015, then president and CEO of
the organization, Andi Hake approached the Lincoln City Council,
offering a contract for economic development. She said then that
because the city of Lincoln was the largest town in the county, the
LCA Council would like to start with Lincoln, then work to add
similar contracts with other communities as time went on.
Throughout that first year, there was public concern about the LCA
and what it was actually doing, including citizens who addressed the
Lincoln City Council, and questioned the use of the funds paid by
the city to the organization.
The LCA also appeared to be having a negative impact on the Chamber
as there was a reduction in membership. Nicole Cox was the director
of the Chamber at that time and often stated that her discussion
with waning members included comments that the member was “waiting
to see what happened with the LCA,” and thus choosing not to renew.
In November of 2015 Cox resigned from the Chamber. Shortly
afterward, Hake announced that she would be leaving the LCA in
January of 2016.
In February of 2016, then Vice Chair of the LCA Greg Basford and LCA
Council member Sal Pollice announced that the LCA would be
withdrawing from its contract with the city of Lincoln. They noted
the LCA council didn’t feel they were equipped to fulfill the
obligations of the contract with the resignation of Hake, and the
flux in the Chamber. Basford at the same time noted that the new and
immediate goal was to rebuild the chamber membership and return that
organization to the strong unit it had been before establishing the
LCA.
This week at the meeting held at the Chamber office, Basford,
Pollice, and fellow LCA board member Frank Adubato were in
attendance with Wilhite. Basford said that the decision to dissolve
the LCA was the right thing to do and that it was in the best
interest of the county and all of the Logan County communities, to
return the focus to the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce.
 Basford said that the LCA Council would become the Chamber Board,
and Wilhite added that the board would evolve, with this current
group being the starting point. Basford said there had been some
shifts, and it was noted that he is the chairman of the board for
the chamber, a position he will hold throughout 2017. Sal Pollice
has also been named as the vice-chair of the board, effective
immediately. Other members of the board are Adubato, Jean Bruner-Jachino,
Tom O’Donohue and Keith Snyder.
Basford said the board would rotate members out, just as the Chamber
has always done, so there is an expectation that there will be
additional changes in the board membership by the first of the year.
Wilhite said she is on the hunt for board members, but that it can
be a tough job. The board should consist of people who are invested
in the well-being of the business community, and who are qualified
and have time to serve.
It was also noted, that as an LCA council member Pollice was serving
as the chair of the Tourism Bureau. With this change he will now
resign from that position, to avoid any conflict of interest.
Pollice commented on this saying he had been proud to serve on the
Tourism Council and was very well pleased with the diverse and
thoroughly invested group of council members. He said their work was
going to continue, and he was pleased that the Bureau was doing
well.
The question was asked, how dropping the LCA would impact the
relationship between Tourism and the Chamber. Wilhite said that the
Chamber and Tourism will always work hand-in-hand. She said it was a
natural pairing for those two groups who are working to promote the
county as a great place to live, work and visit.
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Basford said that neither the LCA nor the chamber has ever had control over the
Tourism Bureau. It is an independent organization that shares space with the
Chamber, but is not under anyone’s control but its own.
The question was also asked what would happen with the LCA money, would their
cash be transferred to the Chamber? Basford said the LCA had no cash. Thus there
wasn’t anything to transfer. It was mentioned that the LCA is holding dollars
remaining on the contract with the city. Basford said yes, that was correct, and
yes that money would be transferred to the Chamber until the city asks for it.
He noted that the money was earmarked for economic development and that the city
needs to request it back for use specifically in economic development.
Wilhite was asked about the number of memberships on the Chamber roll. She said
the Chamber currently has 237 members. She was asked if that was a reduction in
membership. She said actually it was not. She noted that the Chamber has gained
at least 30 new members since she took her position in May. She said that at the
lowest point, the membership was down to 189, but there was some play in that
number. She explained that some members had been slow in renewing, or had been
hesitated to renew, and during that gap time they were not members. Once they
renewed they were put back on the roll.
Wilhite was also asked what percentage of the membership was from communities
outside Lincoln. She said she didn’t have that figure in front of her, but she
could attest that the majority of the membership was from the Lincoln area. She
said that is a situation she is working to change. She noted that the Chamber is
a county organization, and she intends to work to bring all businesses from all
parts of the county into the Chamber membership.
The group was asked if the Chamber was going to try and maintain the rigorous
summertime event schedule it has now, and would they consider putting the three
festivals (Up in Smoke/Pigs & Swigs, Art in the Park, and Balloon Festival) held
in Lincoln back together as one event.
Wilhite said there was still a lot to be discussed regarding the future of the
event schedule. She said that putting the three events back together would bring
back the issue of having enough volunteers, and that is just one of the
challenges. So, will they go back together? Possibly not, but it is up for
discussion.
She added that she would like to look at the timing of the events, and see if
the events could be spread out a little better.
She and Basford also spoke about the Balloon Festival that has just passed.
Basford said that just as it is every year, they worried about having enough
volunteers to pull off the event. But in the last week before the festival,
people really stepped up. Wilhite added that the call had been for at least 300
volunteers, and in the end, they had that many and several more.
It was noted that Wilhite and event planner Kari Adams came into the Chamber in
the midst of the event season, and had pushed hard to get the events organized
and held. Ahead of them they still have the annual Christmas Parade, Small
Business Saturday, and the Chamber Open House. Even so, they are now better able
to start addressing the evolution of the Chamber, and rebuilding it into a
stronger unit than it has been in the past.
She added that there are new ideas being developed even now, with a goal of
better serving the business community, and drawing more attention to Logan
County. Pollice commented that he was excited to see what Wilhite and Adams do
in the future. He said there are already some fresh ideas, and he knows there
will be more. Basford added that he is pleased Wilhite is “thinking outside the
box,” and bringing fresh ideas forward.
At the moment there are no concrete plans for 2017 for the Chamber by way of
festivals and events. Wilhite said that looking at what is being done, and
thinking about what could be added or changed, one big concern has to be the
financial well-being of those the Chamber calls on to help sponsor events.
Another concern she says, is whether or not an event is beneficial to the entire
county. And finally, she said consideration needs to be given to other
organizations in the county, so that what the Chamber does, does not hurt what
they are doing.
Regarding the new ideas, many are still on the drawing table and not ready to be
discussed with the public. Wilhite and members of the board have established
some new committees that will work toward improving the membership offerings,
looking at the events being offered and considering if any new events can be
offered. It is expected that as these ideas formulate into something concrete,
the Chamber will announce them to the membership and to the public.
[Nila Smith]
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