Change. It’s a word that unfortunately has a negative connotation in the English language. We, as humans, don’t always like change. Well, I’m here to tell you that it is time to embrace change, keep an open mind, and be supportive of those enacting changes in our region. It is imperative.
If you’re keeping track, you probably know that I’m coming up on my 2-year anniversary in this position (August will be here before we know it!). If you’re new here, WELCOME! I am the Director of Marketing & Event Planning for the organization called Grow Clinton, by the way.
Our organization has made great strides in making changes for the betterment of the region, our members, and selfishly, ourselves, Grow Clinton. It is a charge I have put a lot of time, thought, and effort into. Was I tasked with this specifically? No.
But I made a point when I started this job to digest how things were done in the past, evaluate them, and then ultimately planned for ways to implement changes. I asked myself: “How can I make that better? What can I do differently”. In case you are wondering, this charge fell under “other duties as assigned” in my job description.
Monday, we held a different kind of Biz After 5 networking event. The summer months were traditionally kept at a host business. I continued doing it the ‘old way’ in 2023, but it was time for change after looking at the attendance numbers (yes, I do keep track!). So, for June, we went to the Great Revivalist Brewery for their first ever Sip & Shop Vendor Market.
This was the perfect event to team up with for monthly networking. And let me tell you, the number of people I could see from our membership and people I’ve seen at Biz events in the past, was astounding! Summers are busy, but I think we find free time in a lot of people’s schedules by having something on a Monday.
This event was such a success for our brand and for the brewery – people were ordering drinks, ordering food, shopping in the courtyard, and having conversations with people they just met. You all see the importance of being present and supporting and I appreciate all the positive feedback I have received on this change. That said, look for us next month at another different kind of Biz After 5. We’ll be at Music on the Avenue, where we’ll listen to 10 of Soul on Thursday, July 11th on 5th Avenue South.
I’d like to share another example, because this one implemented change on a whole new level. I requested that members only register one team when registration opened for our Annual Golf Outing. But WHY? Why wouldn’t I just want to take as many teams as possible from the start? I’ll tell you.
Our outing was so popular my first year in planning it that it sold out after two weeks. I took a deep dive into the list of teams, asked myself what could I do to see more variety and more members involved. I thought about the new member that wants to participate and be involved but doesn’t know that it sells out quickly.
If you follow the event, that’s why you saw communication about limiting the number of teams per business. And I am proud to say that after explaining to the many members that asked, the response was overwhelmingly positive and commended me for what I’m trying to do.
Which is to increase variety and spread the networking out – after all, one of my drivers (pun intended) is that it potentially generates more business for teams golfing with people they don’t know, that it offers more and more business conversations during lunch and after the tournament in the clubhouse, that more business cards are exchanged. And guess what else? This year’s outing sold out in just over a week from when registration opened and we have several new teams in the tournament. I’m calling this change a HUGE win.
The successes of these changes I have implemented are no accident – they are well thought out, planned for, and most importantly supported by my leadership at Grow Clinton (thank you Matt and Andy!). The success of these changes is a testament to our organization and the brand I’m working so hard to build for Grow Clinton. Thank YOU all for trusting me.
Did I know what was going to happen going into it, NO. But that isn’t a good enough reason to hinder change. Will changes need to be made to the changes implemented this year. Probably. Let’s lift each other up, let’s support each other, and let’s do great things together. CHANGE IS GOOD.
