Embracing the Local, the book for chamber leaders and volunteers
Book review of Embracing the Local by Glen Cantrell
Review by Deb Brown, a former Chamber of Commerce Director
This book should be required reading for every small town chamber director, board member and volunteer. You’ll laugh and cry as you read and see yourself reflected in his words. And you might even learn a few new tips to make your service more rewarding!
Glen is the volunteer chamber director in Twain Harte, located in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills. He wrote about what happens when organizational work becomes community work: stretched volunteers, fragile institutions, local businesses, trust, belonging, limits, and the persistent assumption that somebody will always step up.
This book is funny in an “I know that feeling” kind of way, with a touch of dry humor at the telling of his foibles. IYKYK could’ve been the title. Most of the chamber directors I know work way more than 40 hours a week, even though they are volunteer or only paid for 40 hours. Because, as Glen says, loving a place is easy, serving it is harder.
A few quotable tidbits, that should be memes for every chamber office, from the book include:
- But a good weekend isn’t a good season.
- Don’t build the cathedral, build the door and see if anyone walks through it.
- The squirrel gets attention, but then someone has to feed it.
- People like the idea of change up until change started asking something of them.
- I knew if we wanted to grow, we needed better tools that would let a volunteer organization accomplish more without simply demanding more hours from the same exhausted people.
- A crowd is not commerce just because it put on pants and showed up.
- I had to stop asking people to help me carry the chamber and invite them to own it.
Glen learns what it means to delegate, instead of doing it all yourself. He finds out that there are those who know where the dead bodies are buried, and it pays to hear what they say quietly. And he recognizes and rewards the unsung heroes of every small town: the volunteers that make it happen, seemingly like magic.
You can read more about the book, and get your own copy at More Taste Than Fortune Books. (That includes links to find a local bookshop, buy on Bookshop.org or check other retailers.)
If you’re looking for a gift for your local chamber leaders and doers, this is it.
Deb Brown
p.s. I was given the book to read by Glen because he is a subscriber of ours at SaveYour.Town and recognizes a kindred soul when he sees one. The review reflects my own feelings.
- About the Author
- Latest by this Author
Deb Brown comes from a farm outside of Geneva, Iowa, population 141. Her heart lies in sharing the possibilities for small towns. Deb travels a lot, taking back roads when possible, and talking to the locals, sharing stories of other small towns and encouraging anyone who will listen. She’s the co-founder of www.saveyour.town and owner of Building Possibility.
