Chamber Unveils Regional Approach To Development Meeting Focuses Attention On Need For Inclusiveness

It’s now the Spokane “Regional” Chamber of Commerce, not the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce.

The 1,700-member business organization unveiled its new name and a new logo at its annual meeting Wednesday at the Spokane Convention Center.

The change, said outgoing Chamber board chair JoAnn Matthiesen, better reflects the Chamber’s regionwide focus on issues such as the Snake River dams and agriculture.

Matthiesen added that other Eastern Washington, North Idaho and Western Montana chambers of commerce often look to Spokane for leadership on policies that affect the region.

“They see us as the facilitator,” she said.

Representatives from numerous other Inland Northwest chambers of commerce also attended the luncheon gathering of 1,200.

Eldonna Gossett, executive director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, said her group values working with the Spokane Chamber and is pleased to present information to visitors at the Spokane Regional Business Center.

“Spokane has always been the economic hub for the region, and we appreciate that,” she said.

Regional leadership was a common theme of talks by Matthiesen, incoming chairman and Whitworth College president William Robinson and featured speaker Wayne Williams, the Telect president and CEO.

The speakers also stressed the importance of being more inclusive and listening to people from all segments of communities in the region.

“We have to have a spirit of inclusiveness,” Robinson told the crowd. “We can’t just wait for the voices to show up. We have to go out and actively seek those voices.”

Robinson said the Chamber will best be able to achieve its goals if its members follow three rules: Think the best rather than focusing on the negative; Remember everybody matters; The best defense is a good offense; and focus on serving the community rather than expecting the community to support the chamber.

In an interview, Robinson said the chamber’s board has undergone a serious self-examination in the past year. One catalyst, he said, was last year’s “Symposium Series” in Spokane, which was highly critical of the chamber. Board members took that criticism and other community comments to heart, he said.

“Historically chambers have done a better job of representing business interests of big businesses in the area,” he said. “We want to represent all the people in this region, including those who are struggling at the bottom of the economy.”

Robinson is the second university president to serve as Spokane Chamber chairman. The Rev. Bernard Coughlin of Gonzaga University was chairman in 1988-1989.