Good afternoon,
When I began my term as the 2020 Board Chair for the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, I never imagined that I’d be serving during a year where we’d see a pandemic bring such devastation and uncertainty to our local economy and our organization.
Like you, I have spent the past several weeks strategizing and making the decisions needed to keep my business afloat through this crisis. Having my business to take care of and plan for has been a challenge and then I think about the 1200 member businesses that our chamber staff have been passionately responding to and supporting during this time and I’m proud of the work that has been done.
Like many businesses, the Eugene Chamber had to pivot on a dime from normal operations to supporting local businesses in a time of crisis.
Eugene Chamber staff have been working at 150% to do exactly what they were born to do—support local businesses in times of need and crisis.
As our membership investment for Concentric Sky comes due in April, I took a serious look at the value I am getting out of my membership and truly believe, now more than ever, our business couldn’t do what we do without the Chamber. Our collective investment can ensure the Chamber is well positioned to help us build back a strong economy and recover from this crisis.
We also know that many of you are facing a financial battle that you never imagined facing this year and it is just not feasible to cover your membership investment at this time. We want to ensure you that we are prepared to support and advocate for your business through these hard times and will work with you however we can to maintain your membership whether that is through our new monthly membership plans or through a postponement of dues. If you are unable to pay your dues at this time, I urge you to reach out to Chamber staff to work out a plan.
Those who are able to do so, I could not be more appreciative of your continued investment and support for the business community. We need you more than ever, and we need our chamber more than ever.
We will get through this, but we will be stronger together.
Stay Healthy,
Cale Brucker, President, Concentric Sky
Board Chair, Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce
When I began my term as the 2020 Board Chair for the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, I never imagined that I’d be serving during a year where we’d see a pandemic bring such devastation and uncertainty to our local economy and our organization.
Like you, I have spent the past several weeks strategizing and making the decisions needed to keep my business afloat through this crisis. Having my business to take care of and plan for has been a challenge and then I think about the 1200 member businesses that our chamber staff have been passionately responding to and supporting during this time and I’m proud of the work that has been done.
Like many businesses, the Eugene Chamber had to pivot on a dime from normal operations to supporting local businesses in a time of crisis.
- They quickly stood up a comprehensive resource page to distribute reliable information about state and federal assistance programs, you can access it at https://www.eugenechamber.com/covid-19--updates--resources.htm
- Staff began educating themselves on the plethora of resources being developed for businesses and started fielding thousands of calls and emails to assist local companies in navigating new and uncharted waters
- With those frequently asked questions in mind, they created a new “Committed to Community” webinar series and have been hosting experts three times a week to help answer as many questions local businesses and members have as possible. Recordings of those webinars can be accessed at https://www.eugenechamber.com/committed-to-community-webinars.html
- They have been advocating at the local, state and federal level for business relief such as a delay in collection for the corporate activity tax and additional unemployment benefits for laid-off employees.
Eugene Chamber staff have been working at 150% to do exactly what they were born to do—support local businesses in times of need and crisis.
As our membership investment for Concentric Sky comes due in April, I took a serious look at the value I am getting out of my membership and truly believe, now more than ever, our business couldn’t do what we do without the Chamber. Our collective investment can ensure the Chamber is well positioned to help us build back a strong economy and recover from this crisis.
We also know that many of you are facing a financial battle that you never imagined facing this year and it is just not feasible to cover your membership investment at this time. We want to ensure you that we are prepared to support and advocate for your business through these hard times and will work with you however we can to maintain your membership whether that is through our new monthly membership plans or through a postponement of dues. If you are unable to pay your dues at this time, I urge you to reach out to Chamber staff to work out a plan.
Those who are able to do so, I could not be more appreciative of your continued investment and support for the business community. We need you more than ever, and we need our chamber more than ever.
We will get through this, but we will be stronger together.
Stay Healthy,
Cale Brucker, President, Concentric Sky
Board Chair, Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce
