Caribou Chamber Notes

    Customer service is the cornerstone of a chamber of commerce. Having been at the Caribou chamber since 2001, I have (slowly) come to several realizations. And, throughout the summer, we plan to share as our Chamber Top Ten Lists.     These first two are my own personal ones (please indulge me, I will not make a habit of it) and they fall under the Top Ten Things I've Learned, and the Top Ten People I'm Grateful To. (Can we ever really thank people enough?)
Top Ten Things I've Learned
1. Someone is always "mad" at us.
2. A good day/week/month means no. 1 is just "someone" and not a whole bunch of "someones."
3. People are (almost always) nice, and easy to please.
4. There is such a thing as an "illegal yardsale."
5. We are the "Keepers of the Strange …"
6. Whether you call us, or we call you, the conversation will be "atypical…" (I haven't figured out yet if it’s just me).
7. Successfully working at the chamber means: you like people, you don't mind interruptions, and you remember things about your members, and businesses in town.
8. Snowmaps are serious business … snow, snowmobilers, and their families are all good.
9. The devil is in the details (oh yeah).
10. Look forward to learning new things: from everyone, every day.
    As I've watched people come and go, at our chamber, and at all the others in Aroostook, I've come to appreciate things and people I did not pay close enough attention to the first few years I was "at the chamber." I watch the weather channel, and understand the anxiety of clouds the week preceding City Wide Yard Sale, and "the parade" (ours, the Potato Blossom, etc.). I appreciate the people who sign up for Yard Sale (and next year, by the goodness, we're going to have T-shirts made). We're the "Queens of the Yard Sale," and it's a fun thing.
    Trade shows, craft fairs, and festivals are hard, and if you have board members (Neal), or volunteers who help (Mrs. McElwee, Mark), you need to be nice, and remember them in your thankful prayers. The events are fun (especially those you just participate in – in someone elses' town), but they're more work than you might think.
    Events do not magically happen (and if the public in your town thinks they do, you just might be doing it right)! There is no "sign fairy" (ahahuh – refer back to no. 9) … who knew they were so hard to get up/keep up and keep looking well.
    So, on to the second list. Looking back, I was so lucky (and thought I knew it, but really, I didn't) … there were people who were so helpful — who I owe many, many thank yous to:
Top Ten People I'm Grateful To
    Hugh Kirkpatrick, Cheri Doak, Mrs Hebert, Kirk Tibbetts, Richard Cilley, Mike Bosse, Galen Rockwell, Pam Wyman, John Swanberg, and last but not least, Doug Morrell.
    Some of these folks were — and are — helpful on the "economic development" side of things, but really, as we've merged into a unified organization, most were — and are — invaluable in their overall assistance with "the whole ball of wax."
    In particular, someone I owe perhaps more than just a thank you to, but also an apology (because I did not take "The Chamber" seriously in the beginning) to is Kirk Tibbetts. Kirk was always patient, polite, thorough, and methodical (traits I've only come to fully appreciate since he has not been at the chamber with us). City Wide Yard Sale is what it is because of Kirk, despite any of us since.
    Stay tuned, future top tens will include "The Daily Specials," "All-time Strangest Requests," and "Ten Things We Learned the Last Ten Years."
    Wendy Landes, MPA, is the executive director of the Caribou Chamber of Commerce & Industry. She can be reached in person at 24 Sweden Street, Suite 101;  at 498-6156 or via e-mail at wlandes@cariboumaine.net.