b'THE CONSENSUS IS THAT THE IDEAL CHAMBER MEMBER ISENGAGEDLH: The ideal member has a passion for growing businesstheirMM: You must want the things that are good for this region and be own or the company they represent or their clients business. Theyrewilling to dedicate the time at any level to advocate for them.business centered. Its not about the size or type of company you come from. Youve just got to be engaged in what chambers do: we representRJ: You can get anything you want from Chamber membershipget business. Were trying to produce a climate thats right for business,as involved as you want. The more involved you are, the more youll and we need the representation of the solopreneur (single personget out of it. I started out going to area business council, then got entrepreneur) to the large business member to do that. interested in Leadership Charleston. That led to an interest in all facets of the community and business communitythings I didnt realize PB: The ideal member will show up for events. Theyll show up for awere out there. fight and email their legislator. Theyre going to take some action on behalf of themselves instead of just being a name on a list. PB: To me, its about sitting in different seats. The ideal membership experience doesnt have to end with being chair, although we as an LV:Leadership Charleston (a highly sought-after professionalorganization really value that the leader at the top sat in all the different development opportunity established by the Chamber in 1974) engagesseats. If the newcomers I shepherd into the community and Chamber people early. Many companies with people coming in for managementdont know what interests them, I always recommend Leadership positions or customer-facing positions use the Chamber and itsCharleston. It will open your eyes to everything in our community and programs to help them understand the regional market and its issues. its a fantastic pathway to learning what you want to do.20 CHAMBER RETROSPECTIVE250 YEARS'