Page 2 - 2013 FINAL DCOC Annual Report

Letter From The Chairman

This year your Chamber, along with the County and in association with
the School System, helped to raise over $120,000 in scholarships for
25 DeKalb School seniors. The scholarships were funded by the
business community and several colleges and universities in the region.
The Chamber also attended numerous meetings and provided integral
input and support at the Board of Education meetings. The Chamber
Arnie Silverman supported their efforts on many fronts to assist with the goal of full
Chairman accreditation. Our education committee, under the leadership of
Diane McClearen, did an excellent job in this initiative.

2.) Extend The Chamber’s Message
Our goal was to be on top of the minds of our members and prospective
members. This year we held several events dispersed throughout the
“THE POWER OF COLLABORATION county including: the 75th Gala in Stone Mountain, our first Annual Day
CREATES POSITIVE CHANGE” of Service in South DeKalb, the Eggs and Issues, and Board meetings in
central and north portions of DeKalb County.

This was the principal theme in my speech when stepping into the role 3.) Enhance Our Members’ Experience
as Chairman. Our Vision for 2013 was to facilitate collaborative efforts DeKalb Chamber’s event and program attendance is up significantly,
in order to help solve our community’s challenges and to continue increasing our program revenue for the year. We held very interactive
discussions between business leadership, economic development board meetings, engaging all participants. Attendance in board meetings
interests, County government, our cities, the very strong CID’s and increased as well as Board support and participation at Chamber events
non-profits including our tremendous resource of higher education and programs. Our 75th Gala and Golf Tournament were both widely
institutions. attended and a great success.

I believe your DeKalb Chamber of Commerce made great strides in this 4.) Improve Our Organizational Effectiveness
endeavor in more ways than one. The mission of the DeKalb Chamber This year our Foundation Bylaws were reviewed and updated accordingly.
is to serve as the voice of business and to promote, support and sustain We strengthened our committee structure and expanded our board.
business development in DeKalb County. Over this past year, the Chamber We also invited our two school systems and cities to join and help us.
collaborated on several initiatives focused on enriching our County and The Chamber is working very closely with other key organizations like
accomplishing important goals. The DeKalb Police Alliance by supporting and sharing resources and in
turn generating revenue for the Chamber. The Chamber also has a stronger
1.) Improve Economic Development strategic alliance with Leadership DeKalb and we have developed a true
Your Chamber created the first Economic Development Committee this year. synergistic relationship that has proven that 1 +1 = 3. We are hopeful
This group worked closely with the County staff, Board of Commissioners that our relationship will continue to grow and foster success for both
and the DeKalb Development Authority on efforts to create and implement organizations.
an economic strategic plan and an economic development organization
that would successfully sustain existing businesses and attract new 5.) Increase Revenue Generation
businesses to DeKalb County. We are financially stronger. This is due to many factors. Our staff worked
diligently, organized great events and pushed hard on our membership
In order to attract new companies and to assist existing companies in campaign. We watched our costs and the Board of Directors gave in-
advancement and success, we must have a quality educational system. credible financial support as well as worked tirelessly to drive success to
Education was a complicated issue facing our community and it became the Chamber. A special “thank you” must go to Greg Levett and committee
your Chamber’s main priority to assist in improving our education system for a very successful 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee. The Golf
however we could. The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce collaborated with committee, led by Taylor Wright, also raised the bar and held a
DeKalb’s School System leadership, community groups, business leaders fabulous event.
and elected officials to identify ways to assist in addressing the challenges
and restore faith in our school system. We provided the needed focus on This year was a challenging yet very productive and rewarding year.
the importance of quality education and student achievement. We must continue collaborating with our business community, DeKalb
The Chamber took a leadership role in supporting the school system County and city governments, maintaining a strong unified foundation
in many ways. We funded the tuition for eight representatives from and ultimately enriching our DeKalb County.
DeKalb County Schools to attend Harvard University’s Public Education THE POWER of collaboration CAN create POSITIVE CHANGE.
Leadership Project this past summer. We look forward to our continued
participation in the program. Thank you,
Arnie Silverman
02 2013 ANNUAL REPORT