Hoping for a pleasant surprise

Roger Meek says he is pleasantly surprised with the number of people interested in the future of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Meek, the chairman of the chamber’s board of directors and part of the family that owns and operates the Coca-Cola bottling and distribution plant in Fort Smith, is the person in charge of the effort to find a replacement for Tom Manskey, the outgoing chamber president. Meek became chairman in early October.

His responsibility, judging by how quickly he moved to establish new leadership at the chamber, is not something he appears to take lightly.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is that we get this right,” Meek said of the effort to return local, state and national credibility and respect to the chamber.

To clarify, Meek did say the above, but he said it in context of hiring a new chamber president. The credibility and respect language was my addition — an addition necessitated by the cold reality that the chamber’s credibility and respect ranks somewhere between dismal and non-existent.

Meek is quick to note that the chamber’s errors of the past are in the past and that the future has too much potential to get caught up thumbing backward through a calendar.

Not only is Meek’s philosophy correct, but it offers a measure of hope that better days are ahead for an organization that — when functional — plays an important role in the socio-economic development of this region. What’s more, the good people who work at the chamber deserve the type of leadership Meek is displaying and the type of leadership he promises to bring to the chamber.

However, and you, Kind Reader, knew there would be a catch, the errors of the past must deliver lessons or they soon will be errors of the future. Much like a cancer survivor must remember the ailments of the past in order to be on guard for a recurrence, so to must the business leadership of this community keep in mind the absolute goofiness allowed by the previous volunteer leadership at the chamber.

So, to that end, let’s briefly address the three most frequent questions this essayist is asked about the past, present and future of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce.

QUESTION 1: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?
This question, birthed by frustration, is meant to inquire as to how the chamber came to alienate, offend and otherwise piss off almost every important individual or group in the region and state.

While there is not enough space here to document the past issues with the chamber, let’s outline three broad points.

• Failures large and small
The chamber’s activity in raising more than $4 million in cash and in-kind services to fund a new economic development strategy is best explained by making it analogous to the 1937 disaster at Lakehurst, N.J. Like the Hindenburg, the chamber’s plan nearly completed its goal but crashed and burned at the very end, leaving many people unwilling to trust the chamber with their time, trust and money. There has never been a clear accounting to the community as to how the money was spent, what was accomplished and how much money remains. And that’s a damn shame, too, because the chamber’s failure in this activity makes it terribly difficult for legitimate leadership to engage a similar future effort.

In small ways, the chamber also failed. For example, while preaching the benefits of buying local, the chamber’s community guide was published by an Elgin, Ill.-based publishing firm. It’s likely that the chamber’s use of this out-of-state company pulled at least $30,000 out of the local economy. Please pause here and briefly take measure of the irony of having a community guide — which explains the benefits of doing business in the Fort Smith area — printed outside the community.

• Failure of volunteer leadership
As damaging as Manskey was to the effectiveness and reputation of the Fort Smith area and the chamber, he is not the problem, and his departure does nothing to solve the problem.

Our real struggle is with a business and civic leadership that allowed and protected his unleadership. The crux of the problem is when men and women accept positions on boards of important community organizations but fail to take serious their board responsibilities.

• Failure of external leadership to demand change
Unfortunately, civic and political leaders in and around Fort Smith did little to demand the chamber board correct its leadership deficiency. Many of them knew at least three years ago of significant problems with the chamber president, but, for a myriad of reasons, refused to seek resolution.

When key elected and appointed officials in state and federal government positions express glee when hearing that the chamber would get a new president, it underscores the fact that the chamber’s unwillingness to quickly correct its leadership problem creates an image problem for the entire region.

QUESTION 2: WHO WILL THE CHAMBER HIRE?
Who knows? The hope is strong that Meek and his colleagues on the chamber board will make the right hire, but skepticism remains.

Let’s consider the three likely options the chamber might pursue with respect to hiring a new president.

• Chamber veteran with excellent reputation
The chamber certainly could use someone with extensive chamber experience and a solid and verifiable track record of chamber and economic development success.

Factors obstructing this option: That such a person will deserve and demand a hefty salary (chamber might be too cheap), and that such a person might be too smart to come to a chamber in need of wholesale rebuilding are two reasons the chamber might not land such a person.

• Local person with good reputation
There are some who believe chamber recovery is best ensured by hiring a chamber president familiar with the people, politics and peculiarities of the area, and who also is respected by area business and civic leaders.

Factors obstructing this option: A person with deep local connections might be unwilling to take the aggressive steps necessary to substantially prepare the region for a more diverse and dynamic economy. There are some who hold fast to the idea that 1% to 3% annual growth is the way it should be. Unfortunately, a few of these slow growth thinkers remain in positions of influence.

• Limited chamber experience, but impressive/interesting background
In the era of Arkansas term limits, there are many former politicians and politicians who seek these type of “high-profile” regional/community jobs. There is the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and its new president, Steve Clark, by way of example. And there was a former legislator from east Arkansas who applied for the chamber job prior to the September 2003 hiring of Manskey.

This option also includes hiring a chamber rookie (5-7 years of chamber experience) who holds promise and will accept a lower salary than a solid chamber veteran. (The chamber might be too cheap or not have the funds to spend on proven talent.)

Factors obstructing this option: Someone might stop to consider that folks seeking high-profile jobs often are more interested in profile than performance.

QUESTION 3: WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE CHAMBER?
This question, and the search for its answer, brings us full circle, back to Meek’s stated interest in making the right choice.

There is great danger in expressing certainty about future events, but the future of the chamber has but two possibilities.

• Forward: A professional, aggressive and wise chamber president held accountable by a chamber board dedicated to holding fast to high expectations will result in tremendous gains for the region.

• Backward: Anything less than a Results-Oriented Rainmaker will result in further decline of an organization that can’t afford further decline. More importantly, anything less would be an insult to the great people in this great place who are capable of great progress. All they need is great leadership.

As noted in the introduction, Roger Meek is pleasantly surprised with the number of people interested in the future of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. To be sure, there are a number of people interested in the future of the Fort Smith region who hope Roger Meek delivers a pleasant surprise.