As a result of job or other changes in their professional lives, the W.A.C.E. Board recently accepted the resignation of three members, namely Whitney Diver-McEvoy, Scott Ashton, and Rana Ghadban.    These leaders have been important contributors to the direction of the association for many years and W.A.C.E. looks forward to continuing to collaborate with each of them in new ways.

As a result of these changes, W.A.C.E. is excited to welcome three new members to the organization's Board of Directors. "W.A.C.E. is fortunate to have a deep bench of committed leaders who are willing to serve," said Glenn Morris, President & CEO for W.A.C.E.. "We are grateful to Bob, Mark, and Kristen for stepping up to fill open seats on the Board of Directors, and look forward to working with them as part of our leadership team."

The Western Association of Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.) invites chamber professionals to elevate their leadership skills at the 2025 WACE Academy and Academy Plus programs, scheduled for August 3-6, 2025, at the Hyatt Centric Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
Here are five compelling reasons to register:

​In San Luis Obispo County, finding the right talent for key positions often means looking beyond our local labor pool. But while hiring from outside the region brings in new skills and perspectives, it also presents a challenge: helping these new hires and their families successfully acclimate and feel at home in our community.
That’s where the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce saw both a need and an opportunity. Too often, out-of-area hires have declined offers because their partners were unsure they could find meaningful work. Others have accepted roles, only to leave within 18 months after struggling to make social connections or feel a sense of belonging. The Chamber realized that many of these challenges boiled down to one thing: connection. When you’re new in town and don’t know where to start—or who to call—just finding your footing can be overwhelming.

​W.A.C.E. recently updated the Member Portal associated with our website and membership database.    Members who log into the website now have easier access to “member-only” resources, and increased control over their membership records.
Here’s a quick preview....

The W.A.C.E. Academy Committee is charged with ensuring that the content delivered during our annual programs represents the best practices available to create a solid foundation for successful chamber management.   Additionally, they are charged with identifying dynamic, successful leaders who can share that knowledge as members of the Academy faculty.
 
W.A.C.E. is fortunate to have a solid core of faculty who return each year to share their experience and that of others with our attendees.  We’re also fortunate to have a large network for resources we can turn to when it’s necessary to replace a faculty member.

From where I sit, one of the Chamber industry’s biggest challenges continues to be communicating value.

Words definitely matter when trying to convey what chambers of commerce do – their purpose.
W.A.C.E. has tried to assist and address the messaging challenge with the 3Cs:

• Catalyst for business growth
• Convener of leaders and influencers to get things done
• Champion for a thriving community

​While out doing workshops and speaking gigs the past two years, I was impressed that while many have fully embraced the 3Cs, some chambers had embraced their own “3-word messaging” as a way to more clearly tell their story. The 3-words were posted on websites, printed on business cards, on pull-up banners, board agendas and letterhead.

​When the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce launched the STAART Program — Stockton Takes Action Against Retail Theft — we weren’t just addressing a growing problem, we were answering a call. Our local businesses were frustrated. Residents were concerned. Retail theft was impacting not just individual stores but entire commercial corridors and neighborhoods. As a Chamber, we kept hearing concerns at meetings, ribbon cuttings, through business communications with a common theme: business owners and consumers alike felt helpless.
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STAART was built to address this head-on. After hearing from businesses and Chambers of Commerce across San Joaquin County, we partnered with the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a formal pathway for collaboration. The idea was to take a proactive approach: combine technology, visibility, and community engagement into a toolkit that businesses and residents alike could use to report, respond to, and ultimately prevent retail crime.

W.A.C.E.’s annual Staff Salary & Benefits Survey is one tool designed to advance two of the three Imperatives in our current Strategic Plan. Specifically, Imperative 1 challenges us to provide Chambers with industry best practices. Imperative 2 commits W.A.C.E. to advancing the Chamber leadership pipeline.
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W.A.C.E. is committed to ensuring that the Chamber work is viewed as a profession and a career. One key to that positioning is to advocate for Chamber staff professionals being paid appropriately.
Based on the data collected from members, it appears that wages increased for many positions, although not all.   It appears that economic pressures, along with changing areas of focus in the work being done by Chambers led to impacts on wages with positions focused on economic development, workforce, or program management seeing increases while other more traditional roles were more likely to see no gain or even reductions over past years.