'Let's Do Lunch' encouraging business growth
<span>The title of a 2011 Harvard Business Review article on informal leadership said it all - "Hold conversations, not meetings."</span>
<span>That's exactly what the Chester Chamber of Commerce and River City Renewal are doing with their "Let's Do Lunch" sessions at city eateries.</span>
<span>"It's a table discussion," said Chris Blechle, Chester Chamber board member. "You get people together and it gives them an opportunity to hear what's going on.</span>
<span>"If somebody's got something going on with their business or promotion, it's an opportunity to tell folks about it."</span>
<span>The LDL sessions grew out of another current promotion, "Dine Out Chester," which has been extended to Jan. 31 to give people more time to fill out their cards.</span>
<span>The "Dine Out Chester" promotion allows participants to check off a 10-slot card for the chance to earn gift certificates to Chester restaurants.</span>
<span>A slot can be filled for every $10 spent at one of the participating locations - Chester Eagles, Knights of Columbus, Barb's Bounty, Tequilas, Domino's, Chester Country Club, Rough House Pizza, VFW, Reid's Harvest House, Subway and Jodie's Ol' Farmhouse.</span>
<span>Unlike the Chamber's lunch presentations, LDL sessions are not structured and do not feature any guest speakers.</span>
<span>"It's all like-minded people interested in the benefit of the community and helping the retail sector," said Tom Welge, treasurer of River City Renewal. "It's easy to talk about, but we're trying to show small things that everybody can do to keep the community healthy.</span>
<span>"It's a lot easier to keep a business that you have healthy than attract a new business to your community."</span>
<span>Blechle said the response hasn't been "super large," but he has been happy with the turnout thus far.</span>
<span>"My concern was we'd get too many people involved, but so far it's been a nice mix," he said.</span>
<span>Welge noted that participants do not need to be members of the Chamber or River City Renewal to participate.</span>
<span>"There's no expectations," he said. "If somebody feels that they need an ear for an issue that they have, or if they want to be social, it's a great time for that too."</span>
<span>The session locations rotate among different eateries in the city, giving each an opportunity to bring people in.</span>
<span>"I would say the ultimate goal is just getting more input from business members, community members into their thoughts and opinions regarding making Chester more business-friendly," Blechle said. "A lot of good ideas come out of informal discussion."</span>
<span>In regard to the "Dine Out Chester" promotion, Blechle said that once the promotion is over, organizers will meet and review its results.</span>
<span>"The 'Dine Out' program, it's going to stop on Jan. 31," he said. "At that point, we'll re-evaluate and decide if we want to run another promotion and if so, when.</span>
<span>"I think the 'Let's Do Lunch', we'll try to continue that moving forward."</span>
<span>The next "Let's Do Lunch" session has not yet been scheduled, but check out the Herald Tribune's Facebook page and website for more updates.</span>