No one is more excited about former Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson being named the new Chamber of Commerce president than I. Finally, we will have someone at the helm who knows business but, more importantly, knows the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community.

For far too long, Chamber leadership has focused on social and community-related issues unrelated to the business community. This has caused our Chamber organization to lose credibility, effectiveness, members and money.

Robertson has an excellent opportunity to turn the Chamber’s sinking ship around and steer it into a port where it can receive much-needed repair and rehabilitation. No doubt, Robertson is qualified and can do the job. Still, it will take dedicated hard work, a competent staff, talented and expert committee volunteers, and an engaged board of directors to convince local business owners that change is coming.

To this end, Roberston has wasted no time in this quest to rehabilitate the Chamber and make it valuable and relevant to the business community. He is working on shoring up his support staff, including the recent hiring of Chamber veteran Jenny Proctor. Proctor was the Director of Operations at the Chamber for seven years when she left in 2020 to pursue other endeavors. She has returned as Chief Financial Officer to assist Roberston in the Chamber turn-around.

No doubt about it, Proctor will be a considerable asset since she has Chamber experience and an extensive administrative background, and years of management and accounting expertise.
Every successful and thriving community has a strong Chamber of Commerce. With the growth we are experiencing in Fayetteville and Cumberland County, we must have an organization that focuses on its members and produces programs, initiatives and events advantageous to Chamber members and supporting sponsors and partners.

Chamber leadership must have a clear vision of the future and recognize opportunities that will catalyze a vibrant and robust business community. Equally important, an effective and influential Chamber must have the fortitude to represent local businesses and advocate for business-friendly public policies.

With new leadership and a common sense approach, there may be another opportunity for the Chamber to take advantage of. A week ago, the board of directors of Distinctly Fayetteville, formally known as the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, abruptly disengaged their Interim President and number two staffer.

The reason for their dismissal is still unclear and may never come to light considering Fayetteville leadership's reluctance and resistance to transparency. Nonetheless, an effective CVB is equally essential to a community as the Chamber of Commerce.

Our CVB, located on Person Street, is in a high-profile and convenient location, making it recognizable and accessible to visitors, guests and residents. In contrast, our Chamber of Commerce is located in the obscured halls of the Festival Park building on Ray Ave. Its location is neither easily recognizable nor accessible to businesses, visitors, guests and residents.

This writer believes a Chamber location should be highly visible, easily accessible, and located in the economic hub of the business community. I have heard our Chamber is entertaining moving to the Bronco Square Center on Murchinson Road across from Fayetteville State University. This is a lovely commercial complex, and even though the Chamber would add prestige and credibility to the Center, it fails drastically when fulfilling the Chamber’s mission of serving its business members and residents since that location is neither highly visible, easily recognizable, nor conveniently accessible to businesses, visitors, guests or residents.

Here comes the opportunity: With all the changes at Distinctly Fayetteville, it would be advantageous to all Fayetteville and Cumberland County concerns if the Chamber of Commerce was housed in the same location as the CVB. From my perspective, it would be a win-win consolidation that would yield many benefits to our community by taking advantage of basic economies of scale.

Pairing these two organizations would be a tour de force for marketing and promoting the Fayetteville community. It makes sense to take advantage of this opportunity. Then again, traditionally, Fayetteville and Cumberland County leadership seem to “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

Congratulations to Nat Robertson, our new Chamber of Commerce CEO, and to Jenny Proctor, a hearty welcome back. You can count on our support.

Thanks for reading the Up & Coming Weekly newspaper.