Boca Benefits Consulting Group Inc.

[Originally written in February 2009 for publication in the Clearwater (Florida) Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Voice of Business bi-montly newsletter.]

 Governmental Affairs Committee Commentary

by

Robert W. Murphy, 2009 Chair

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Why So Big a Net at GAC

In December of 2008 the Governmental Affairs Committee (“GAC”) was fundamentally changed. Prior to accepting the chair, I asked that the Chamber put together a steering committee which would set the broad agenda for our work. It did so immediately and we met to determine how best to meet the perceived needs of Chamber members as expressed  in the 2008 survey of things members felt were most important. The result was the formation of six functionally based GAC standing task forces. We also held in reserve two additional task forces which could be activated at a later date.  The active task forces are listed below. We have been extremely fortunate to have some really excellent community leaders step up to head each of them and to bring on board other high quality people to serve with them.

• Economic Development
• Education
• Energy Policies
• Health & Welfare
• Local Government Liaison
• National/State Liaison

Recently, I was challenged by a colleague who indicated to me that we might have really bitten off more than we can chew. He also opined that we may have stepped beyond the traditional functions of chambers of commerce. His conclusion was that certain of our task forces could not possibly address their respective mandates in a meaningful way and that we were probably just wasting resources. In other words: our GAC net was just too darn big. His was kind of a Moby Dick type warning with the image of us chasing out after a white whale.

An easy reply would have been to tell him that the Chamber is obligated to its membership to respond to the items that were identified in the 2008 survey. The GAC structure is just a means to that end. However, such a reply would have been disingenuous on its face.

The GAC Steering Committee has knowingly established an incredibly challenging 2009 agenda that does press up against the traditional limits of chamber of commerce type functions. We fully recognize that we may only be able to marginally effect some of the more aggressive objectives we have placed there for action. We may indeed fail to deliver very much on those. However, the alternative, doing nothing at all, was never considered by the Steering Committee to be a tenable position for the GAC. We concluded, admittedly with a minority dissent, that action will trump no action every time.

As an arm of the Chamber whose unique function is interaction with local, state and national policymakers, we feel strongly that our GAC mandate goes beyond the clearly short-term economic interests of our members. The Chamber has other missions as well, both economic and social.  Long-term positioning associated with the factors that are required for preserving our local economic health (e.g., energy policy) is equally important. Having a properly educated, healthy, secure and satisfied workforce (e.g., education, health & welfare, etc.) are also all critical factors which impact our economy. Additionally, providing assistance to those who are interested in bringing businesses to our city cannot be overstated (e.g., economic development). Lastly, quality of life in a community has a direct economic impact by significantly influencing the interest new industry has in locating, or staying, there. All the above considerations ultimately come full circle to economic health. One piece cannot be viewed separately from the whole.

Yes, so the GAC has cast a really big net. It has made public its goals. It has allowed the cynics free reign to expect the worse. It has done it all with some trepidation of failure but also with the expectations that we all could celebrate some real successes along the way. It has taken the position that either it would positively effect the community in some manner or its new concepts would crash and burn badly.

We want all our members to be aware that each has an open invitation to become a member of the GAC. No prior political experience is necessary. Nor is there a need for any GAC member to join a task force or be an activist on any issue. We encourage you to just come and be part of the dialogue that takes place at 7:45 AM on the first Wednesday of every month in the Chamber’s Community Room. Contact the Chamber (phone: 727-461-0011) with any questions you might have regarding participation.

Bob Murphy

2009 GAC Chair