| | Published October 16th, 2019
| Orinda Chamber of Commerce to become 'virtual'
| | | By Sora O'Doherty | | |
The Orinda Chamber of Commerce board of directors announced Oct. 1 that the chamber will transition over a few months to a more virtual organization structure and will rely upon volunteers rather than paid staff. The changes came about as a result of the chamber's annual review and planning process.
The chamber will no longer be employing an executive director, the position currently filled by Cindy Powell, and will cease to lease office space in the Orinda Library building. According to a chamber press release, the vast majority of interactions with members, the business community, partners, and local government are accomplished through internet-based services and electronic means. This will continue unchanged, and the chamber will continue to monitor inboxes for voicemail, email and social media.
Chamber functions such as newsletters, event announcements, website, advocacy communications and social media will continue to be powered by low-cost or no-cost digital services such as MailChimp, EventBrite, GMAIL, and WIX and carried out by volunteers. Occasional needs for specific technical assistance such as service problem resolution and graphic design will be handled through help desks or on-demand task services available from numerous digital providers.
Board members and volunteers will provide in-person representation to the chamber's community partners, such as the city of Orinda, Chambers of Lamorinda, Lamorinda Presents, East Bay Leadership Council, elected representative forums, and nonprofit partners.
In making the announcement of the changes, the chamber board thanked all of the chamber's members, volunteers and past executive directors for their service. |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA