Brooklyn's Progress
July 2004

By Darryl Hollon

On May 20, over 25 new Members attended the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s second New Member Orientation (NMO) of the year held at the Business Library.  The NMO is an opportunity for new Members, and those who may have been out of touch for a while, to meet Chamber staff, network and make new contacts with other business owners.

Volunteers serving on the Chamber’s Membership Committee were in attendance and, along with Chamber staff, served as resident “Networkoligists,” helping to connect new Members during the informal networking during breakfast and after the morning’s program concluded.

The NMO began with the Brooklyn Chamber’s newest Members introducing themselves and their businesses. Closing out the morning’s program, the Chamber staff talked about how the Chamber promotes, supports and advocates for small businesses in the borough through its various programs and services including the free employment service, Good Help, the new affordable health insurance product Brooklyn HealthWorks and the business development services available at the NYC Business Solutions Center at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.  Members were also reminded that they not only have access to Chamber staff, but other Chamber Members can also be a great resource.
  
During his remarks, Mark Kessler, Brooklyn Chamber Vice President for Member Services  stated that, “the Chamber is like a gym so choose your equipment and work out on it.  That equipment can include networking events, Chamber committees, the Chamber’s communications vehicles such as the Brooklyn’s Progress, ibrooklyn.com and the Membership Directory, and more.”

Concluding the morning’s program was an online presentation by Brooklyn Chamber Communications Specialist Khadija Batuta, who reviewed the many helpful features available at ibrooklyn.com, including the free EZWeb page, “Success Stories” where Members receive front page promotion for their business on the Chamber’s Web site, the Community Events online calendar where Members can promote their events, the online Membership Directory where Members can look up their fellow Members or search for services, and the “Members Only” section of the web site that provides links and information to the many other Member benefits available at the Brooklyn Chamber. Khadija recommended that Members submit their information to the Chamber’s free online directories including brooklynease.com for retailers and brooklyneats.com for restaurateurs. Members were encouraged to bookmark the Web site and to login often to keep abreast of the latest Brooklyn Chamber news and activities.

The next NMO will be held at the Brooklyn Chamber’s new office at 25 Elm Place, Suite 200. Mark your calendars and R.S.V.P. now for the next New Member Orientation on Tuesday, July 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. For information about sponsoring a future NMO breakfast please contact Special Events Manager Maggie Beaute-Lucien at mlucien@brooklynchamber.com or at 718-875-1000 ext. 105.