WBJOURNAL.COM EXCLUSIVE: Metrowest Chamber Gets New Board Chair
Ted Welte, left, president and CEO of the MetroWest Chamber, with John Strickland, the chamber board's new president. Strickland is director of administrative services at Framingham-based Bose Corp.
Businesses are grappling with nothing less than survival during an unprecedented economic downturn, according to John Strickland, director of administrative services at Framingham-based Bose Corp. and the new chairman of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce's board.
"Businesses are obviously struggling. It is a challenge for us to be relevant to our members," he said. "We're leaving no stone unturned in reaching out to our members to make sure we're meeting their needs."
The MetroWest chamber's membership has a wide range of businesses, from mom and pop stores to global companies, such as Staples Inc., Genzyme Corp. and Bose.
Strickland said times are hard for everyone, the big boys included, such as his own company, Bose Corp., which announced layoffs in January for the first time in 27 years.
"If it's hard for Bose, think about how hard it is for medium and small businesses to maintain their customer base," Strickland said.
Getting Connected
The chamber offers networking events, town meetings with state officials, seminars on specific topics such as cash flow and workshops on pending legislation like new data security regulations, said A. Theodore Welte, the chamber's president and CEO.
"We want them to be able to spend an hour and a half on a topic and be able to use it right away to affect the bottom line quickly, because that's what they need," Welte said.
It also wants members to be involved in the work of the chamber, and that's where Strickland's experience will be helpful.
Strickland pointed to the great job Welte has done for years in managing the business of the chamber, while he leads the charge to keep the board and the membership excited and engaged in creating the chamber's future.
"I hope to set the right tone," said Strickland, adding, "It's like being a cowboy when you're leading the herd: Every now and then you have to see if the cows are still behind you."
Strickland's resume includes stints as board chair of the United Way of Tri-County in Framingham; serving as a board member of the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership in Westborough and as a representative to the I-495 Technology Corridor Initiative.
"I think one of the things that I bring to the chamber from my time with other organizations is the ability to pick up the phone and talk to someone either at a company, or a town or another group and get information or help with an issue," he said.
And talking about issues and how they might be solved is a process Strickland and Welte say the chamber has already started.
"A lot can be done from sitting around a table and talking about issues. We hope we can continue to help our members survive," Strickland said.
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