Jerry Czarnecki, new executive director of the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce, is focused on growing membership by improving services to the business community.
“We’re a business whose business is to run businesses, then help businesses run,” he said.
“We’re basically on your payroll,” he said, as an advocate for the business community.
That includes promoting businesses on social media by sharing members’ posts about events and news about their business.
“We’re not promoting the chamber, we’re promoting the chamber members,” he said.
The chamber has about 280 members, with membership fees as low as $350 per year.
Czarnecki and his team are looking for ways to serve the community better and to connect residents to services. That includes working with the city’s utilities department to offer a QR code that links to a member directory to show where various services are available. That’s a service that helps new utilities customers get better acquainted with the community.
Last year, the chamber launched a magazine for Portage. Former executive director Nancy Simpson’s primary focus now is the magazine.
Bringing in Czarnecki eases pressures on Simpson. “You can’t put everything on a plate before more stuff starts falling off,” he said.
Increasing the staff allows the chamber to do more. He hopes to add staff as membership continues to grow.
“We’ve definitely not saturated the community,” he said.
At every monthly board meeting, members are expected to provide names of potential business leaders to contact about membership. It’s a lukewarm introduction, Czarnecki said, but it’s better than a cold call.
The chamber’s public policy committee has had success recently, persuading the City Council to adopt changes in licensing for contractors and other requirements. That work in advising the city on potential policy changes, begun last year when Simpson was executive director, will continue, Czarnecki said. “We really want to be a part of what’s happening there.”
The chamber is also working with Portage Township Schools to expand the school district’s No Place for Hate initiative. The chamber will roll out that program to member businesses first, then go beyond it to other businesses as well.
The aim is to let students know that local displays displaying the No Place for Hate sign support the students in fighting bigotry and bullying.
A chamber event each September helps build awareness of the community. A progressive dinner involves transporting 60 to 80 people via limo buses to multiple restaurants for a sampling of their offerings. “We really need to highlight the community,” Czarnecki said.
Czarnecki’s past careers have had an impact on his current job. As a teacher and later as executive director of a homeless shelter, his job has always been about serving people and helping them make the connections they need for a brighter future.
Small wins matter. “Success is the most addictive drug in the world,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot of potential here” in terms of economic development, he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
