Chamber's 2011 Goal: Drive More Business to Royal Oak

After a year of focusing its support on its current membership, the has a new goal for 2011: drive business as hard as the organization can as it celebrates its 75th anniversary of operation.

“My big mantra is to drive commerce to our members, the city and the region,” said Andrey Tomkiw, who is in his second year as the president of the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce.

The plan already is underway, Tomkiw said, with new opportunities for networking and the formation of new groups designed specifically to address some of the unique business Royal Oak is attracting.

The Business Referral Group will begin its pilot program this year. It is designed to be a free resource to help entrepreneurs and businesses in Royal Oak generate business leads.

“Other communities have had a lot of success with this type of program,” Tomkiw said.

Reid Beyerlein, the branch manager and a financial adviser at Raymond James Financial Services in Royal Oak, said "2011 should be a great year for the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce."

"(The chamber) has had a significant impact on my business and I am thankful for its continued drive to help its members," Beyerlein said. "I believe they are trying to do more education for their members in order to achieve a higher level of service for the business community."

The chamber also will be forming industry-specific groups to help communicate thoughts and information on how the chamber can best participate and assist in driving commerce to those specific industries.

It will first focus on the creative and new media industries, Tomkiw said, citing that many creative services firms continue to move into the area. Tomkiw also discussed the fact that Royal Oak has been able to attract several film crews in recent years and the possibility of a Royal Oak film office would make sense to keep attracting film business to the city.

Although Gov. Rick Snyder has proposed cutting incentives to the film industry, Tomkiw said he is confident the new state budget will not affect the creative industry as a whole. "As for the Snyder budget, it is not a done deal yet and I suspect there will be some tweaking," he said. "The creative/new media industry is not really impacted by the new budget. We have much of that industry here in Royal Oak and are looking to attract more to become the creative hub of the region." 

The Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary organization with approximately 600 members made up of businesses and individuals. It is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year as one of the oldest chambers of commerce in the state.

"This is a huge deal," Tomkiw said. "It says we must be doing something right." 

The chamber's new executive director, Shelly Kemp, praised Tomkiw in his efforts since becoming president to firmly support Royal Oak businesses. "It's been very important to (Tomkiw) that we as a chamber continue to support all our members as much as we possibly can," Kemp said.

Kemp noted that Tomkiw, a Royal Oak attorney, has always been a big advocate of networking groups and has opened an effective dialogue with elected officials. Tomkiw used to be the chair of the chamber's legislative committee, and under his direction, Kemp said, the chamber was able to help several new and existing businesses navigate their way through the permitting process, among other things.

Tomkiw said it is critical that the local Chamber of Commerce be a political advocate for small to medium-sized businesses because they do not have a direct voice in Lansing.

"We know that starting up a new business can be challenging, and we are doing all we can to make sure the people who choose Royal Oak are successful," Tomkiw said. 

One politician Tomkiw said he hopes will talk to the chamber this year is Michigan's new governor, Rick Snyder.

"Given the interest in the new tax laws (Snyder) is proposing, this would be a great opportunity for Royal Oak businesses to communicate directly with the governor," Tomkiw said.

It's all a part of putting Royal Oak businesses first, Tomkiw noted.

"Our goal is always to continue growth and reach more businesses to see how we can better serve them," Tomkiw said.