Our focus going forward

The Midway Chamber Board of Directors recently held its annual retreat. This is common practice for nonprofits and a great way to focus on priorities and the strategies to implement work for the upcoming year. Our meeting was held at Neighborhood Development Center with our social hour at Urban Growler Brewing. 

I left our retreat inspired and eager for what’s next. At last year’s retreat, we met with Mighty Consulting as they helped us create a strategic plan. This time around, we worked on our four identified focus areas and created our work plan. Our four focus areas are: Community, education, membership, and partnerships. The following are some of our take-aways.

 

Much of the community focus priorities are already done by the Midway Chamber, but we aim to continue the work and enhance where we can. Our Board aims to hold at least one volunteer opportunity per quarter, with past examples including supporting Keystone Community Services, Shop with Cops, the Ronald McDonald House, Habitat for Humanity, and the annual Citywide Spring Cleanup. We also inform members of grant opportunities and other programs offered by Ramsey County and other resources. Currently, the Promise Act is a great opportunity for businesses within the Promise Act boundaries. 

 

The Midway Chamber prides itself on providing educational opportunities for members at our events. In the past year, some of the topics have been on subjects like new employment laws, the proposed Saint Paul sales tax, artificial intelligence, ReConnect Rondo, and Rethinking I-94. We will continue to find informative subjects and speakers for events, and find more ways to partner with other organizations. 

 

As a chamber of commerce, we are constantly trying to find ways to show value to our members. This year we plan to highlight anniversaries and find more fun news stories to share from our membership. As we plan out our year for events, we will continue to ensure we are meeting at different times of the day and at different parts of the Midway and nearby neighborhoods. 

 

In 2019, the Midway Chamber Board members met with organizations important to our community. These groups included neighborhood, religious, education, cultural leaders and more and totaled around 50 leaders. Each meeting had a similar format where we asked questions about their priorities for our community and how we could help. Our aim was to gain a better understanding of these groups and find ways we could partner or show support. 

All of our focus areas go back to our mission: The Midway Chamber of Commerce represents businesses and organizations that are dedicated to Building a Stronger Midway by providing programs and services that help members grow and thrive. The key here has always been “building a stronger Midway.” By helping educate our members, connecting businesses with resources and chamber members, and meeting with community leaders we aim to help the Midway grow and thrive.