There is a lot of big news to tell you this week. First, the Chamber got to welcome four new members in the past few weeks — three in the past week! They are: Phils Florist and Greenhouses, R.L.W. Management, Inc., Quality Home Services and The Sherwin-Williams Company. All of these are wonderful businesses run or managed by great people. And they returned to the Chamber because they see some hope that we are headed in the right direction. That is very gratifying and rewarding. Welcome to all and may we serve you well!
The Chamber has added 34 new members since November. That represents a 23 percent increase.
One of our biggest events of the year happens this coming weekend with our 40th Annual Caribou Fall Arts & Crafts Festival. The event will take place Saturday and Sunday at the Caribou High School from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. We have sold out once again all of our spaces and that means 140 vendors will make up a great show. This is an excellent way to get a great jump on your holiday shopping or just to buy some cool stuff for you and your home. The Caribou Rotary Club will have food available in the kitchen along with the return of the popular baked potato bar. There will also be fried dough out front. Admission is free so come on down to the oldest, best and biggest show in The County!
The Annual Dinner is also coming up on Thursday, Nov. 14 at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center. We have a wonderful and delicious menu lined up. In the next couple of days, tickets will be made available and the award recipients announced. It is going to be wonderful.
This past Saturday, the Chamber, in partnership with the Aroostook Republican, held a meet and greet event for Caribou candidates for City Council and the RSU 39 Board. During the event, each candidate was interviewed a standard set of questions. The results of those interviews can be viewed on our local access channel several times a day right through to the election. Thank you to all the candidates that participated as informed voters are the best voters.
In-between all the hustle and bustle that is going on around here these days, I have spent some time in refection. I receive all kinds of feedback, which is expected in doing what I do. The old expression that you cannot please everyone certainly holds true.
There are two kinds of feedback. One is on the job I am doing and I welcome that. I know that I am far from flawless or perfect. Anyone who is honest and has gained any wisdom in life — especially when you are getting a bit longer in the tooth — understands the nature of their personal flaws. I can take that kind of feedback or perhaps better stated, I must take that kind of feedback to get better.
I welcome that from anyone even when it pinches. In my former career, I was the boss. I made the decisions and then others had to carry them out. My job was to make sure those directives were carried out successfully. This is different. I still make some decisions, but I also have to carry them out. It uses different skill sets and some have to be learned or honed. The organizational skills needed are different and I need to get better. I am thankful for the feedback and will do my best to improve.
The other kind of feedback has to do with my mission … our mission here as a Chamber. There are some that wonder why we need a Chamber of Commerce at all. Others may believe that such a thing is nice but may not be worth the money. While I understand that kind of feedback, I would not be here if I did not believe in the mission.
There are two things I have learned about faith in my life and they stand pretty much at the core of who I am. One is that faith is the belief in things you cannot see. I have a vision for what this Chamber can mean for the community. In fact, my favorite part about this job is that I believe it can make a difference in our community and positively impacts the Chamber’s members. Not all those efforts can be seen in immediate results and value. But if the board and I are successful, those results will eventually lead us to look back and say, yes, they made a difference.
The second thing about faith was learned almost 35 years ago when a good friend once said to me that faith was like the rudder of a ship. It is pretty useless unless the ship is moving. This is similar to what I have said in the past. Flight equals thrust plus lift. If there is no thrust, there can be no lift. Results cannot happen if you are standing still.
I believe Caribou is on the move after standing still for quite some time. I believe that the right leadership is in place to move us beyond where we are now. I want to be a part of that. I want to support that. I want our Chamber members to be in the thick of it and benefit.
Our Chamber members have weathered the past and it inspires me that so many of them are still here because they believe in and love the Caribou area and this is where they want to be. I owe it to them to be better at what I do and any feedback that prunes bad branches is welcomed. A successful Chamber of Commerce is vitally important.
Executive Director William Tasker may be reached in the CACC office at 498-6156 or e-mail him at cacc@cariboumaine.net.
