Cookeville-Putnam Co. Chamber Sets Goal Of 300 New Members

The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce will have a hefty goal to meet when it’s annual membership drive begins Tuesday.

Diane Callahan is the chamber’s Vice President of Organizational Development.

“We have a goal of 300 new members in two days,” Callahan said. “To put that in prospective, our membership campaigns in the past have gone for two weeks and sometimes two months to get all of the investment dollars in and maybe we’d get 125 to 150.”

By reaching the 300 new member goal the chamber would have 1,000 plus members for the first time in its history.

“The more people we bring into the chamber and into our business community, the more people you get to know and your business grows,” Callahan said. “Quality is great and quantity is even better because we will be stronger with 1,000 members.”

For Callahan, the ultimate goal for the chamber is bringing in more jobs and becoming stronger in governmental advocacy.

“We want to be a voice to the government for our small businesses. Most of our businesses and most businesses in the United States are small. They’re not your large businesses and sometimes people feel that’s all the chamber cares for,” She said. “We care for entrepreneurs, the family-owned businesses and the ones with under 25 employees.”

In the last three years the chamber has eliminated an obstacle that comes with joining the chamber by adopting tiered benefits. Callahan said it allows members to choose from a menu of benefits that will work best for their business.

“What we hear a lot is I don’t have time to attend the events, but it’s much more than that,” Callahan said. “When you become a member of the chamber you are supporting something bigger than yourself because of all the programs we are doing that are helping everybody, even if it’s indirectly.”