Next Steps in our Strategy Forward

Last week I told you about the Board's vote on a joint venture with our Minneapolis counterparts — a new regional chamber built to advocate for Saint Paul's priorities while giving our whole region a stronger, unified voice. I also told you that the healthy disagreement surfacing around this decision isn't a red flag - it is a sign of your Chamber doing this the right way.
 
Also last week, that principle got tested. And I'm glad to report we passed.
 
The vote was delayed briefly — not shelved, not stalled — so we could sit down with a few more civic leaders before the Board finalizes its decision. Rather than treating such conversations as friction to push through, your Board treated it as exactly the kind of input this process was built to welcome. We said that receiving different viewpoints is how we get this right. This extra time is us proving we meant it.
 
A few things I want to be clear about:

• The priority hasn't changed. The case for a unified regional chamber — grounded in Mayor Her's own call for growth, in what 59% of chambers nationally are already exploring, and in what even peer "split" regions like Kansas City have shown is possible — is the same case it was last week.
• The timeline has changed slightly, and that's fine. Eighteen months of work doesn't get undone by more listening. If anything, a decision this consequential for Saint Paul's business community deserves the fullest possible airing before it's final.

 
I'll be honest: momentum matters, and every organization that's walked this road before us will tell you the temptation is to rush the vote once you've built consensus, because consensus is fragile and time is not your friend. We're choosing to resist that temptation. A regional chamber built to last needs a foundation that includes the people who'll be asked to stand on it.
 
So, here's what I'm asking this week: stay engaged, stay patient. Additional input is not a threat. It's how we make sure the outcome is right.
 
See you in the trenches,
B

---

Coming up next on the calendar: