The short e-mail message, sent out to a lengthy list subscribers, was succinct and to the point. Baring any late and unexpected changes, the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce will cease operations on Nov. 30.
The closure ends roughly 80 years of business advocacy for the organization. The chamber has been in existence since the mid-1920s, beginning life as the Broadway Commercial Club and being named the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce in 1965.
"Obviously, we're very sad about this," said Charles Hamilton, who has served as chamber president for the last four years. "But it got to the point where there really was no other option."
Hamilton said the decision was the result of facing up to hard realities. Membership hovers at around 70; four years ago that total was more like 130. Membership dues ran from $95 to $275 a year, depending on a business's size. Beyond the organization's membership, the chamber's board had four of nine positions vacant when the news to shut down was announced.
"It was hard for us to even have a quorum," he said. "People just weren't staying involved in the chamber."
Changing role
Hamilton said the chamber's current role, one that evolved from a retreat more than three years ago, included advocacy for the businesses community and chamber members, marketing efforts for chamber members, networking opportunities and service opportunities. There was mixed success in putting the plan into place.
"Of those four, advocacy went poorly, because there just weren't enough people to do what was needed," he said.
As for networking, attendance at chamber events decreased to the point where regular meetings were discontinued. Hamilton explained that given how many Hill businesses are restaurants or retail operations, finding a convenient time to meet posed a real challenge.
Recent chamber efforts have included creating a map of Capitol Hill, an interactive map on the chamber's Web site and a visitor's center that was getting off the ground at the Capitol Hill Internet Café when the closure announcement was made. These efforts were achieved with city grants. But such grants were unavailable for the overall marketing strategy for the Hill that Hamilton and chamber members had desired.
A major change for the Capitol Hill chamber took place two-and-a-half years ago, when longtime executive director Joan Lawson retired after nearly 12 years. The chamber board made the decision not to hire a replacement. While Lawson was by no means highly paid, the move was inspired by economic realities.
"Community organizations in general need to have either a strong volunteer base or a paid staff. When we went away from paid staff our chamber was unable to pick up the necessary volunteer staff," Hamilton said. "I probably didn't push that aspect hard enough in some respects. I might have taken too much on."
Hamilton said the lack of volunteers ultimately sealed the chamber's fate.
"I certainly don't blame anyone. The business community has simply changed. Capitol Hill has always been about a half dozen business communities to some extent operating under the chamber umbrella. But these communities have different plans and different needs. Broadway's concerns are usually different from the 15th Avenue merchants, as an example," Hamilton said.
While Hamilton pointed out that he is certainly not the only person who put in time at the chamber, as president he has had a visible profile and is the most active. He attends countless meetings each month and has been the chamber's public face. Hamilton also runs his own Web consulting company. The juggling act required to keep on top of chamber activities while operating a successful business had begun to take too large a toll.
"I just couldn't volunteer so much. I could go to four meetings a night if I wanted. The board said they understood, but there weren't other people able to step in," he said. "I certainly understand. Everyone is pretty busy running their own business."
As far as a reaction, Hamilton said he's heard surprisingly little comment since his e-mail went out last week. A few comments have expressed sadness, he said, but no one made any offers to volunteer to try and save the organization.
Hamilton is sanguine about the closure. It certainly wasn't his or the board's first choice. He said he was pleased that the chamber was able to be a presence at numerous community meetings and to present its point of view. He is also pleased with the way the chamber and other community organizations were able to work together in recent years. The chamber was a co-sponsor of numerous events, including last year's well attended business summits.
He regrets that he wasn't able to do more outreach among the 6,000 registered business owners found within the zip codes that include Capitol Hill.
"The majority of businesses on the Hill are not operating out of store fronts," Hamilton said. "Visible business actually make up a small minority. But outreach is very expensive and we just didn't have money for it."
The chamber's phone number has been disconnected and the Web site (www.capitol-hill.com), which Hamilton created and donates, is unlikely to stay up forever. The visitors center is in limbo.
It came down to facing a simple and straightforward reality.
"If we had more volunteers it wouldn't have come to this," Hamilton said.
Doug Schwartz is the editor of the Capitol Hill Times. He can be reached at editor@ capitolhilltimes.com or 461-1308.
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