Lincoln and Logan County Chamber of Commerce to reorganize

[November 10, 2017] 

LINCOLN

The following letter by the Lincoln and Logan County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors was sent out to its members at the close of the business day on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017.

Please note that the Chamber office is closed for Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 10. The office will close for the reorganization period as of Wednesday, November 15th.
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[Dear Members,
After 104 years in business, first known as The Lincoln Commercial Club and then later as the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors has decided to suspend operations while restructuring the current model. The current financial viability of the Chamber has digressed to a situation where we have had to lay-off the staff of the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce in an effort to restructure the current model to a level of financial sustainability. The lay-offs were non-performance related and we are disappointed by this decision.

Following a nearly 18-month-long struggle to keep its doors open while trying to regain a financial footing with the compounding effect of previous policy and financial structures that have been changed and implemented in past years, the Chamber has accumulated a model that cannot sustain itself going forward. The primary factors that have led to this decision have been based on financial analysis of current event costs that have spiraled out of control along with debt that has accumulated while the membership structure and costs have decreased. It is regretful that we have to make this decision as the current staff has implemented some great interest in upcoming projects while building relationships that will support the business community. Without sufficient income under the current model, the Chamber cannot staff an office under current structures and man events of that size and scale while attempting to pay off the previous debt accrued.

However, the Board of Directors are dedicating themselves to exhausting all of the community’s options before it decides the future of the chamber/organization. We believe this organization is critical to the success and growth of the Lincoln and Logan County. In an effort to reorganize and save the Chamber we will be suspending business for 30 days starting Nov.15th to meet with the community and to allow the community and its citizens to be directly involved in their chambers future. We believe the Chamber is worth saving and restructuring it to its roots while making sure our community businesses have the opportunity for their voices to be heard on moving forward. The Chamber and its board members have been working tirelessly on initiatives to implement community support to help move forward in creating a sustainable model for the future.

Previous decisions over many, many years were made in the best interest of Chamber membership. Some of the ideas and policies that were implemented were done by idea sharing and networking from other successful Chamber organizations in other cities and locations. They were specific to their towns as those models have not worked for Lincoln. In hindsight, not all of those decisions have proven to be cost effective and the restructure will be to make sure the Chamber is focusing its efforts back to where it belongs; supporting the local Business owners in our area.

The current and previous board members over the years have been a diverse group of people volunteering their time and efforts away from their own businesses in a cause that is admirable and humbling. While we are disappointed about this setback, we are very proud of the hard work of everyone involved to create ideas, problem solve and develop a viable solution in a very dire situation. The Board will be attempting to contact anyone in the community that is willing to be a part of helping to save the Chamber of Commerce for Lincoln and Logan County. Although it is a challenging time for Chambers all over the nation, a Chamber that has been around since 1913 is worth saving. We look forward to discussing this further with all of you in the very near future, and we thank you for your continued support and understanding!

Please contact us with any questions or comments. The Chamber Office will be closed as of November 15th for business. You may e-mail at [e-mail] or call at 217-735-2385. We will be organizing an event to address questions going forward and will be updating the current chamber list of said dates and any information as it comes available.

Sincerely,
Lincoln and Logan County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors]
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LDN will bring you further updates early next week.

[LDN]