Chamber conference does disservice to its mission | Opinion

Every year I follow the annual Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce conference on Twitter (see #TLHACC19 for this year’s fun). And every year I’m shocked that they are hosting it outside of Tallahassee; this year it was at the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island. It simply doesn’t make sense that our city’s own Chamber of Commerce is hosting a major event not in our city.

Chamber, here is why I think you should keep your annual conference in Tallahassee. A three-day meeting at an expensive resort out of town will not serve to bring together your whole community. The average age of Leon County residents is about 31 years and over 35% of residents are an ethnic and racial minority. These are your city’s people who are building businesses here.

When I look at the pictures being shared on Twitter, it certainly does not look like those are the people who have the opportunity to be at your conference, to “discuss real issues affecting our region’s future.” By keeping your conference local, you can give yourself the chance hear about issues affecting our region from your whole community.

More:A day-by-day guide to our coverage, photos, videos from the Tallahassee Chamber conference

I know I’m not the first to bring up this issue, and I bet the Chamber will have a rehearsed response as to why they have to keep their weekend away from town. Maybe they like the “retreat feel" you get when you force people to stay together. Or perhaps they feel that there are few spaces in town that can hold that size of conference.

To these and more, I respond, be creative! Lead by showing how it can be done in Tallahassee, rather than proving that it can’t be done. Your mission is “retain and expand our local business community.” Tallahassee businesses want events in town. Entrepreneurs in our city are ready to respond to these challenges.

How about “growing business, advocating for business, and driving value to members” here in Tallahassee? Show off our businesses, not Amelia Island’s.

I am an outsider and am completely unknown to the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. That makes me exactly who they need to hear from.

With a major event it holds every year, the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce is ignoring its own mission, to the detriment of our city. It looks terrible to those of us on the outside. 

Sara Hart has been living and working in Tallahassee since 2010. She has enjoyed being a witness to the growth of her adopted city, and has a passion for supporting local businesses and local people. She is a college professor.