<div>This was in yesterdays Daily News. Thought it may be of interest.</div>
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<div>Keim outlines direction for Moscow Chamber of Commerce</div>
<p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">New director hopes to get committees up and running </p>
<p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">By Tara Roberts, Daily News staff writer</p>
<p style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; font-color: gray">Thursday, November 15, 2007 - Page Updated at 12:00:00 AM</p>
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<br><b><font size="2">Keim</font></b></div><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">
<p>Progress is the goal of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, executive director Darrell Keim said at his State of the Chamber address Wednesday afternoon.</p>
<p>"It's been an interesting year at the chamber," he said. "I wanted to show everybody what the plan is to go forward."</p>
<p>Keim took over as director in September. Former director Paul Kimmell resigned in early 2007 after six years with the chamber. He was briefly replaced by Dennis O'Keefe, who resigned in July just weeks after starting his post. Chamber president Mike Nelsen of St. John Hardware also resigned in July and was replaced by Hodgin's Drug owner Pam Hays.
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<p>Keim outlined the structure of the chamber for the approximately 40 businesspeople who attended the meeting. He emphasized the importance of the subcommittees that work under the chamber board.</p>
<p>These committees are "where the work of the chamber happens," he said. Some haven't met in months, so his goal for his first year as director is to get every committee going strong.</p>
<p>A main goal for the Government Affairs and Community Development committees is to get chamber representatives at important city, county and state meetings, Keim said. The chamber already has a strong voice in the community, but increasing meeting attendance will make chamber members' voices heard when leaders make decisions on important issues such as economic development.
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<p>"The chamber represents 400 businesses when they make a statement, don't they?" Keim said.</p>
<p>The Education Committee is working on the Latah Works job shadowing program and, if it receives a grant, the Learning For Life program, which teaches high school students career skills.</p>
<p>Keim said a "centerpiece" is needed for the chamber's visitor and relocation packets, so he has asked the Public Relations Committee to develop three new brochures. One brochure will describe retail opportunities, and another will highlight technology-related businesses. A third brochure will map out a self-guided art tour.
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<p>"I want people to ... be able to see what Moscow's about right away," Keim said. "We need to be able to show them in concrete terms that we have culture, we have history, we've got shopping, we've got things that most communities our size don't, and we have them in abundance."
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<p>There also is a subcommittee for chamber membership and the Moscow Motorcycle Classic, which first took place this summer and already is being planned for next year. Keim said more subcommittees can be added as needed.
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<p>"It is our chamber and it can grow and change as Moscow needs it to grow and change," Keim said.</p>
<p>Jeremy Nesset, a financial consultant for D.A. Davidson and Co., asked how the chamber will work with a community that is divided about how and how much business growth should occur.</p>
<p>Keim said the chamber hosts forums and gathers information for its members but does not take overtly political stances. It is also important to get diverse people in subcommittees so they can thoroughly discuss issues as a chamber before taking a stance.
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<p>Nesset asked how Keim would lead the chamber if a business such as Wal-Mart wanted to come in and chamber membership was split in opinion.</p>
<p>Keim cited a "big box" survey the chamber administered two years ago, in which respondents were "overwhelmingly pro-growth or pro-planned growth." A section for future surveys may be added to the chamber Web site.
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<p>Hays noted the chamber mission statement says the chamber must promote free enterprise while preserving quality of life.</p>
<p>Nelsen said in a situation like Nesset's, the chamber "becomes the information outlet, pro and con."</p>
<p>Keim agreed.</p>
<p>"We just let the numbers speak for themselves," he said. "We don't have to take a stance."</p>
<p><strong>Tara Roberts</strong> can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail at <a href="mailto:troberts@dnews.com">troberts@dnews.com</a>.</p></span>