It’s been a busy past couple of weeks since it was announced that the most recently elected Lionheart Chamber of Commerce Chairman had resigned and that elections for a replacement would be held. As every time before, those interested in campaigning for the position were to express that interest by a certain deadline (in this case, August 14th) along with a picture of their avatar, a little about themselves as well as their vision for the Chamber of Commerce.

What is the Chamber of Commerce?

The Lionheart Chamber of Commerce (CoC) is an estate owned and resident-govered group at Lionheart Estate which focuses on Second Life business. The meetings are generally focused on business experiences, exchanging useful tips & tricks as well as organizing group activies or events. It’s a fantastic opportunity to explore business tactics and create bonds with your fellow merchant residents at Lionheart Estate.

The group is exclusive to Commercial property owning Lionheart Estate residents and is free to join. To request invitation, please pay a visit to any LEMS terminal and select the appropriate menus to gain access as seen below:

Touch terminal >> My Account >> Groups >> Chamber

My Introduction

My name is Sookie Slafford and Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman (October 2010 – June 2011 term). More importantly, I’m a long term merchant resident at Lionheart with two successful brands under my belt in part thanks to the wonderful amenities Lionheart Estate has to offer businesses. I am currently in the stages of revamping my year plus old business Jolly Farm with a new direction and a variety of lessons learned regarding Second Life business.

After proudly serving my elected six month term (and then some), my vision for the CoC has greatly changed. Of course I want what anyone would want – to provide and oversee a successful group where you are free to share experiences and exchange information related to running a successful business on Second Life. But I have learned that the CoC is so much more than that.

I’ll be the first to admit to you that being in charge of the Chamber of Commerce is a lot of work and it sometimes feels thankless. There were times where I slacked off because I felt as if the members didn’t care. It wasn’t until the end of my term that I realized that people stopped caring because they thought I gave up on them. In final attempt to make sure the CoC was left with something, I instated our planned bi-weekly event, Roaring Reductions and saw the meetings and overall chatter multiply. It was then that I realized the members were just waiting for the direction they were lacking from me.

It wasn’t until I stepped down that I realized how important the CoC had once been to me and that I’d simply forgotten. I elected to not run for a second term in June because I didn’t feel I had the time to dedicate to the group and my real life was a little too up in the air for my liking. I didn’t want to make another promise to you that wouldn’t be kept. I’m happy to say that life has settled down and I’m confident in my ability to give you the time and attention you deserve.

The CoC needs direction from someone who understands its potential and ultimate function. It needs consistency in meetings, events and information. If re-elected, I promise to you the following:

• The Roaring Reductions event will pick back up – this time with more organized planning and tools that are easier for you to use.
• We will make better efforts to work with the Lionheart Mentor group to exchange resources and information so that you get exposure opportunities and perhaps even knowledge about the inner workings of Second Life.
• The CoC will get with the 21st century, focusing on using the power of social networking to its advantage – including link and social handle exchanges between members.
• We will provide more workshops, focusing on a variety of Second Life business related topics organized by willing members.
• A much more engaging, hands-on Sookie Slafford this time around.

In closing, I hope you will consider me for re-election for this term. I look forward to working with the CoC regardless and hope to provide my unique experience and expertise regardless of the election outcome.

I waited anxiously for Lionheart Estate owner Dirk Klees to announce who expressed interest in campaigning for the position. Because I’ve campaigned for the job before, I had an idea of what I could expect from whoever I’d be campaigning against, and did all of the work of creating campaign items (some with Alia’s help) such as campaign signs complete with scripted note card giver, buttons and even hats. I was completely prepared and excited about the whole ordeal.

And then Dirk finally announced yesterday that I was the only person running for the position. Oops. Well, I guess it’s better to have been prepared and find out no one’s running against me than to not be prepared and find out I was running against a lot of other people, right?

The job isn’t officially mine, although I’m not sure what’s coming next. All I know is that there is an electoral meeting on August 26th and voting will follow it. The electoral meetings traditionally have been so the CoC members can meet those campaigning in person, ask questions and get to know the candidates before the election weekend officially begins. But as Dirk said…

This time, we had one applicant for this position, which is why the electoral procedure will differ from the previous elections. The exact procedure will be explained in the next blog post about the opening of the elections on friday, as well as on the electoral meeting.

So I guess we’ll see what happens. In the mean time, those reading who are Lionheart Estate residents who own Commercial properties, consider joining the Chamber of Commerce. If there’s anything I have learned, it’s that the CoC is what the members make it. We could really use more voices at the table and regardless of what happens at the electoral meeting, I’d really like to see more people participating. And those of you who are already members, start thinking about questions you’d like to ask. Many of you were members during my past term and you should have a pretty good idea by now what works, what doesn’t and what you’d like to see.

The electoral meeting is on August 26th at 1:00pm SLT in the Lionheart Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room. See you all there!