It can be difficult for many leaders to tell the story of their organization. Even if they have a team to help, getting information out, clearly and routinely, can be a challenge. And too often the immediate focus is advertising. This is important, but more important is the ability to summarize the state of the business.

The Derrick’s annual Business Review and Forecast (due 1/5/24) provides one opportunity each year for our local businesses to share their current position, accomplishments (or challenges), and what they have planned for the future. This is a unique opportunity!

The Venango Chamber, along with many others, has been encouraging our members to submit their articles. When needed, we can provide assistance or refer a writer to help. Working with businesses, we see stories worth telling and know there is a community waiting to hear.

We recently held a lunch meeting with the paper’s editor, Luka and the Special Editions editor, Amanda, to learn what makes a great submissions for the BR&F, what to include and what to leave out.

Chamber President Susan Williams shares, “In preparing our article, this is a great chance for us to review what the last years successes and challenges were and to consider how to share what we expect for the next year. We put a lot of thought into the article, as it can become an inventory for us to reference when we need to provide others with content about the chamber.”

The Chamber looks forward to this annual publication, as it becomes a valuable referral tool, for the current year, but also as an archive.

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s January 2024 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.