At the Chamber’s Annual Banquet on June 6, it was announced that the Chamber would now be the over-arching organization for economic development and tourism activities, merging Marshall Economic Development, Marshalltown Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Chamber into a single entity.

What is new?

By leveraging its incredible 121-year history and well-known brand, the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce will streamline its operations, structure and services to better meet the needs of businesses, organization, residents and visitors.

What hasn’t changed?

The Chamber continues to be committed to providing strong leadership and bold vision to grow and enhance the community and region it serves.

Why the change?

Approximately six years ago, an effort was made to bring the community’s three economic growth and business organizations under one roof: The Chamber, MED and MCVB. These three organizations formed the Marshalltown Regional Partnership.

The intent of the MRP was to facilitate communication and promote interdisciplinary collaboration across organizations and programs. Bringing these different organizations together was a great start, however, overall perception and general structure seemed to be a challenge. Many associated the MRP as “the chamber,” not realizing the Chamber was one of the three separate units under the MRP. This created a sense of confusion.

Moving Marshalltown’s critical business, economic development and tourism organizations under the well-recognized Chamber brand will simplify operations and structure, making it easier to serve and market the region.

What has changed?

Under a single brand as “The Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce,” the former organizations’ focuses will be carried forward, with a renewed emphasis on supporting the business community, recruiting and retaining new businesses and quality workforce, and attracting visitors to the area through meetings, conventions, sporting events and attractions. Simply stated, the Chamber is dedicated to making the Marshalltown area the place to live, work, learn and play.

Slight operational and structure changes are needed to ensure a smooth transition for all programs, initiatives and stakeholders:

• Moving MED and MCVB under the Chamber umbrella.

• Merging the four-board structure into one Chamber Board of Directors.

• Creating committees to support each of the Chamber’s function areas: Advocacy, Economic • Development, Education & Workforce, Membership Services and Tourism.

• Creating additional programming to focus on the needs of stakeholders.

• Enhancing the roles of current staff and hiring new staff to fill gaps.

Who makes up the Chamber Board of Directors?

The Board is comprised of 9-13 at-large members who represent a cross-section of Chamber members and investors. Additionally, the Board will have City of Marshalltown and Marshall County representatives and ex-officio members. The Board will create a vision, develop a strategic plan, provide oversight and ensure the Chamber has the resources it needs to succeed.

As President and CEO, I have the honor of overseeing the staff and working with the Board of Directors as they set strategic vision for the future. We’re viewing this as a somewhat “Chamber 2.0” – if you liked what we were doing before, you’re going to like it even more now. We are implementing all that was good with the Marshalltown Regional Partnership, with a continued emphasis on strengthening our programs and the community. I look forward to working with our members and stakeholders in moving not only the Chamber, but also the community forward. I welcome conversations about community needs and how we can all work together to make Marshalltown the best place to live, work, learn and play. We continue to be Marshalltown Strong and this new Chamber structure is another positive step forward.

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Lynn Olberding is the President and CEO of the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce.