Building Community Through Business: The Dana Point Chamber Story

Have you ever wondered what a modern Chamber of Commerce actually does? Forget outdated notions of stuffy meetings and mandatory networking – the Dana Point Chamber is rewriting that playbook.

Vickie McMurchie, President of the Dana Point Chamber of Commerce, takes us behind the scenes of an organization that's breathing new life into business networking. With a passion that began during a high school internship and came full circle when she took the helm in February 2020 (talk about timing!), Vicki shares how they've built a thriving community of nearly 500 members with just a small, dedicated team.

"We want to make your professional life as fun as your personal life," Vickie explains, debunking the myth that Chambers are exclusively for established business owners. Whether you're a student exploring career options, an entrepreneur with a budding idea, or simply someone wanting deeper community connections, the Dana Point Chamber offers a welcoming environment. Through signature events like the Dana Point Turkey Trot and Festival of Whales, they celebrate local culture while driving economic support for small businesses.

What stands out most is their refreshingly genuine approach to community building. Rather than high-pressure sales tactics, they focus on creating engaging experiences where relationships develop naturally. Vickie acknowledges the challenge of making adult friendships and encourages bringing friends to events to overcome the intimidation of walking into new networking spaces. It's this human-centered philosophy that's transforming how people perceive and engage with their local Chamber.

Ready to connect with your local business community in a meaningful way? Follow the Dana Point Chamber on Instagram @DanaPointChamber or visit danapointchamber.com to discover how they're making business networking genuinely enjoyable while strengthening community bonds.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Rachel Fyfe.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Well, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Now are you looking to getconnected to the Dana Point
community, maybe find ways tonetwork, or you have a new
business that you want to getout there?
Well, we have a resource that'sreally closer than you think,
and today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,

(00:36):
vicki McMurchie, with the DanaPoint Chamber of Commerce.
Vicki, how is it going?

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Oh, you know living the dream.
Ms Rachel, thank you so muchfor having me on today.
I appreciate you.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Well, thank you for joining us, and you know we're
excited to learn all about yourbusiness and organization.
So tell us about the Chamber ofCommerce in Dana Point.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
Absolutely.
Dana Point Chamber of Commerceis much like the Chamber of
Commerce in your local area, andso what we do is we promote our
small business community, wepromote the community in general
and we promote just networkingand connections with people, and
so we're we're trying tomodernize the idea of what a
chamber of commerce can do andto make it fun and lively, and

(01:19):
so what we do here is we producethe dana point turkey trot, an
annual classic car show, theFestival of Wales, things that
really celebrate all things DanaPoint and not only promote the
destination but also drive theeconomic influence and
importance of supporting oursmall businesses here in Dana
Point.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
That's wonderful.
You know how did you get intothis kind of business?

Speaker 3 (01:42):
Fun fact I actually interned at my local Chamber of
Commerce when I was in highschool during my senior year and
loved it, went to college,learned, hold a whole bunch of
stuff, worked for a non-profitright out of college and then
eventually came back to theChamber of Commerce kind of in
the number two positionessentially, was here for about

(02:03):
five years and then left to godo some other stuff in the
for-profit sector development.
And when the position ofpresident slash executive
director opened in 2020, Iapplied for it and came back and
started in February of 2020,which was really the best time
ever to come and work for asmall business oriented,

(02:23):
membership based nonprofitorganization, because it's not
like anything happenedimmediately after that.
So it's kind of been a fullcircle moment from when I was 17
years old to now, when I ammuch older than 17 years old.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
I love that.
You know what are some myths ormaybe misconceptions.
Do you think in your industry?

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, I think that people associate chambers of
commerce with being really oldschool or that you have to own a
business to be a member of achamber of commerce.
You don't.
You could just be someone who'slooking to get more involved in
your community.
You could be an entrepreneurwho's looking to start a
business.
You could be a high schoolstudent who's looking to network
and work on your jobopportunities post-school.

(03:05):
I think there's themisconception that it's just
boring shaking hands and goingto some networking events and
not making true connections, andit really couldn't be further
from the truth.
We try to associate importantspeakers who can provide more
information or inspiration.
Really, we try to do kind ofthemed events right, we
incorporate the local non-profitcommunity, we incorporate maybe
your dogs.

(03:25):
Again, I think in the world ofnetworking is really advancing
and how people meet each otherand how people get information
about their communities hasreally altered the last decade
or so with social media, yelp,et cetera, and so we're trying
to be in the places where peopleare.
So, as much as it's great tocome in person and do your

(03:47):
networking, we're also in thedigital world as well, promoting
businesses and promoting what'sgoing on in the community.
So it's always, always evolvingand it's not that old school
organization that maybe yourparents belong to back in the
90s right.
Chambers of Commerce has beenaround for more than 100 years
and we've been around for 75plus, but obviously we want to

(04:12):
be something that's invigoratingand timely and essential for
people nowadays wonderful.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
So you know, we know, marketing is really the heart
of every business.
So so how are you targetingyour customers, attracting new
members?
What are you doing for that?

Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yeah, I honestly it's .
It's being out and about in thecommunity.
We really try not to be the.
It's a terrible example, butlike the used car salesman where
we just push and, push and push, like you got to join to see
the benefit.
If you want to join, that wouldbe amazing, but if not, we'd
love to hang out with you.
And so it's definitely word ofmouth.
We do the social mediaadvertising.
We advertise in our localpublications, get the word out

(04:51):
about things, but really what itcomes down to is that we have a
good product, which is us, andso we are a really small team of
two and a half people.
We have a membership of nearly500 members and we're just
genuinely people who enjoy eachother and enjoy hanging out and
networking with each other andsupporting that local community,

(05:12):
and it's really we've created agood base of that and I think
the word has traveled about that.
And so we are very lucky andfortunate to have an organic
reach where people reach out tous and want more information and
or hear about the fun thingshappening in Dana Point and want
to be a part of that.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
Wonderful.
Have you ever thought aboutdoing your own podcast?

Speaker 3 (05:35):
Oh, I leave that up to the professionals like you.
Our visit Dana Point and DMOused to have a podcast and we
yeah, I think for us we arecrazy busy and I would love to
do it.
I've seen other chambers do itsuccessfully and I just don't
know if I possess the skill orpatience that you have with

(05:58):
people like me who are like mymicrophone doesn't work.
So kudos to you and what you'redoing.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Well, thank you.
All right, so, outside of yourwork with the chamber, what do
you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3 (06:09):
Sleep.
No, I am a very big advocatefor animals.
I really love animals, maybemore than people, which is
interesting for this job, but Ivolunteer with our local animal
shelter here better place forthe lost and abandoned animals
in this community.
And other than that, I thinkjust you know the basics of what

(06:38):
everyone probably says isspending time with family, going
to live music, going to comedyshows, that kind of thing,
trying to find the joy Right.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, exactly, Well, I love that Animal lover too.
So now, Vicki, tell ourlisteners maybe one thing they
should remember about the DanaPoint Chamber of Commerce.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
One thing you should remember about the Dana Point
Chamber of Commerce.
That's a really good question.
I think it's just that we wantto have fun.
I have been to many an eventwhether it's chamber or a
professional organization thathas been pretty boring and you
check a box because youremployer tells you to go do
something.
We are very aware of thoseevents and we are not that, and

(07:22):
so I would really encouragepeople to get over any
misconceptions that they mighthave and to spend some time and
also bring a friend right.
It's hard to make adult friends.
It's hard to walk intosomething where you don't know
anyone and not feel that likehigh school feeling right, and
so surround yourself with peoplethat you enjoy in your everyday

(07:43):
life and then bring them intothis setting as well and watch
that kind of emulsify and groweven bigger.
So that's what I wouldencourage is to try to make your
professional life as fun asyour personal life.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
Love that.
So how can our listeners learnmore about the Dana Point
Chamber of Commerce?

Speaker 3 (08:01):
Just stalk us in every possible way.
We are our website isdanapointchambercom.
We've got Facebook, we've gotInstagram.
We're old so we don't haveTikTok.
Maybe one day we'll get anintern.
We're on LinkedIn, etc.
We're kind of all over theplace.
So we would absolutelyencourage you to engage with us
on our website, but if you giveus a follow at Dana Point
Chamber on Instagram, we wouldabsolutely love that.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
Well, vicki, I really appreciate you being on the
show and you know we wish youand your business and the
chamber the best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
Oh my gosh, Thank you for having me.
I really, really appreciate theopportunity to brag about all
things.
Dana Point, love it.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognporangecountycom.
That's gnporangecountycom, orcall 714-941-862.